- K. Gopalakrishnan
Full flat beds, DVD quality movies to watch on an individual drop down TV with 12 different channels to choose from, refrigerators to provide cool drinking water and a completely air-conditioned ambience...wait a minute, I am not referring to the first class flight by Jet Airways. These are the facilities offered on board the new sleeper buses launched by Kesineni Travels. The company operates over 30 such sleeper buses for all important destinations. “We want to provide a whole new experience for bus travellers”, says Mr. Srinivas Kesineni, Chairman and Managing Director, Kesineni Tours and Travels Ltd.
Mr. Srinivas Kesineni, fondly known as Nani, is a people’s person. He spends much of his time trying to understand his customer’s needs and acts accordingly. This has made Kesineni Tours & Travels the largest provider of inter-city bus transportation across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Kesineni Travels is driven by Mr. Srinivas Kesineni’s passion and desire to be considered by the traveller as the best in the industry.
Operating buses is in his blood. His grandfather, Mr. Venkaiah Kesineni, started operating buses way back in 1928 from Vijayawada. [One of the first inter-city bus operators in India itself. Prior to the introduction of diesel engines, buses were operated with steam engines].
The family has been associated with the bus business for over 80 years now and Mr. Kesineni has been personally in charge of the business for over 25 years. It was in 1992 that he started his own bus company Kesineni Tours and Travels. Today it is the largest provider of inter-city bus transportation, serving more than 75 destinations with about 430 schedules daily across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. More than 15 lakh customers travel each year on Kesineni’s buses.
Mr. Kesineni attributes the growth in bus travel to the boom in the economy and better road infrastructure growth which has led to more travel by road. Southern India has particularly witnessed phenomenal growth in IT and manufacturing, and this has created huge employment opportunities in all major metros. Hyderabad, in particular, has seen spectacular growth in IT industry resulting in a lot of professionals migrating from other towns and States. Places like Vizag and Vijaywada are also growing rapidly as IT hubs. All this growth is resulting in more people travelling by road both for personal and business purpose, particularly in buses, says Mr. Kesineni.
Kesineni Travels caters to all segment of bus travellers. The company owns a fleet of 150 buses which includes 30 Volvo semi sleeper buses, 30 air conditioned Sleeper coaches built on Ashok Leyland chassis, 30 semi sleeper buses AC buses built on Ashok Leyland chassis branded as ‘Classy’ and the balance are non AC buses. This balanced fleet has helped Kesineni Travels to cater to customers from all segment, from non AC to high end sleeper coaches. The company has recently added a couple of Cerita AC buses to its fleet.
Online reservation system
The online reservation system is one of the major initiatives of Kesineni Travels. Today all the offices and booking centers of Kesineni Travels have been connected online, and this has resulted in streamlining of the whole reservations system. Customers can log on to the site and book their tickets, even select their seats based on their preference and availability. This system has ensured that the tickets are not blocked by agents. The company worked on this system for well over a year before making it fully operational without any problems.
The online bus ticketing system was inaugurated last year, precisely on July 7. While some bus operators keep a quota of seats on the Internet booking, Kesineni’s Online reservation system ensures that all the seats are kept open for booking on the Net. The system is the main foundation for the future expansion plans of the company, says Mr. Kesineni.
Kesineni’s new generation fleet is backed up by cutting edge technology, well trained man power and infrastructure to ensure the highest standards of operating efficiency. Complete maintenance support is provided by Kesineni’s own state of the art technology workshops in Hyderabad and Vijayawada capable of servicing over 100 vehicles and are equipped with paint booths. “There will be no compromise on safety, reliability, comfort and on time travel”, adds Mr. Kesineni.
24-hour helpline
The motto of Kesineni Travels is “Driven by Dedication” and as part of its commitment towards its customers, the company has set up a 24-hour helpline for the convenience of its passengers. Customers can call the helpline and get any clarification or even make a complaint or offer suggestions for improvement. Immediate action is taken based on the call and the customer is also kept informed about the action taken. The call center is based at the corporate office in Hyderabad and is under the direct control of Mr. Srinivas Kesineni.
Another important initiative, never heared of in bus travel, is that every day and in every bus six passengers are picked up in random and a feedback is obtained from them to understand the overall travel experience, cleanliness and hygiene conditions inside the bus and behaviour of staff. Immediate action is taken if there is any deviation or complain.
While Kesineni is well known for its regularity and on-time performance, its group companies also provide value added services to its customers. The company’s tour service offers charter and tour packages for business, conventions, schools and other groups at affordable rates. Kesineni Cargo Carriers offers value-priced overnight parcel delivery to all its destinations.
Be it the management, the fleet, the ground staff or the bus crew, the focus is on performance and customer satisfaction. Every Kesineni employee is groomed to be smart, friendly, proficient and well-informed ensuring that their interaction will make the passengers feel welcomed and looked after. The drivers are well trained to make the journey a safe and comfortable one.
Today Kesineni Travels has a network of 41 offices spread all across South India and Maharashtra. All these offices have customer lounge for passengers to wait before boarding the bus.
Kesineni Travels has always been a trend-setter for the rest of the industry. Be it the cargo business started part of its buses, online ticketing and 24-hour helpline, Kesineni has been a pioneer in providing outstanding service to its customers.
Growth rate
Kesineni Travels has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 57 per cent during 2003-2008. The company clocked a turnover of Rs. 100 crores for 2007-08. The switch-over from manual to online booking systems has enabled the company to approach the business more professionally and has also resulted in increased profitability.
“From these reports, combined with our past enormous experience on demand and supply factors of this industry, we have identified a major, untapped, potential and lucrative customer segment in the inter city bus transportation industry. We call it as the Second A.C. Sleeper Class and the First A.C. Sleeper Class segments,” adds Mr. Kesineni. The next big step for the group will be to enter the speed cargo business. The company is preparing a business plan wherein the cargo can even be tracked online.
Personally Mr. Kesineni Srinivas has done his bit for the betterment of the society. He has donated Rs. 25 lakhs to the Kakatiya Seva Samithi’s Poor Merit Students Hostel & Old Age Home. Besides, land worth a couple of crores was willingly donated to the Government, for the laying of an essential road for the neighbouring Auto Nagar at his home town, Vijayawada. Also, another essential road near benz circle, Vijayawada, which was continuously post poned by government due to paucity of funds, costing Rs. 9.50 lakhs, was totally sponsored by us.
Mr. Kesineni has also been supporting sporting events which don’t get much attention in India like the All India Billiards & Snookers Championship, 2007, Hyderabad, the All India Veterans Cricket Championship held in Chennai and Indian Olympic Association’s Local Chapter’s Sports man spirit encouraging “Olympic Run”, 2008 Andhra Pradesh.
But the path to success has not been so smooth. Mr. Kesineni has faced many challenges and obstacles in his career spanning over 25 years. Despite, all the obstacles, he has succeeded purely because of his conviction, passion and his strong belief in providing customer satisfaction. The management, fleet, ground staff and bus crew are guided by Mr. Kesineni’s focus on performance and customer satisfaction.
Being a bus operator is full of challenges. Its is a high investment business with competition from railways, Government-run transport corporations and even low-cost airlines to some extent. The government has also not been supportive of bus operators and the taxes levied are quite exorbitant, making this business unviable. Andhra Pradesh government levies tax of Rs. 3,750 per seat per quarter and in Tamil Nadu its Rs. 3,000 per seat per quarter. The rising fuel and maintenance cost has practically eroded the profit margins of operators added to this the competition from Government-run transport corporations. Another major challenge is the non availability of trained drivers.
