Neeta Tours and Travels needs no introduction. Serving passengers across seven States, 56 cities and 180 destinations, the company has touched many lives. Known to sense the pulse of the passengers, the Mumbai-based operator has not only redefined the daily commute but also reinvented its operation from time to time. The company has invested in 30 new Bharat Benz coaches both in 2×1 as well as 2×2 configuration with 26 and 37-seater capacity respectively.
Sharing the rationale behind investing and plying such compact buses, Mr. Sunil Savla, Owner, Neeta Tours and Travels, shares: “With growing congestion on city routes, the long 53-seater buses aren’t allowed to enter the city limits. The commuter shells further 80 to 100 bucks reaching its destination from the highway, especially in Mumbai-Pune. Not only are these new buses compact with their 9 metre length but are also faster to fill-up and depart on the trip.”
Mr. Savla stresses the fact that compacting vehicles doesn’t mean the company compromises on safety, comfort and convenience of the passenger. “In fact, we have fitted quality products such as Maharaja seats from Harita, ACs from Eberspaecher and air suspensions from Wheels India. Also, all the seats are equipped with seat belts and USB port for charging.”
These compact buses are also aided with another unique feature. The entire single seat row (of the 2×1 configuration) is reserved for women passengers. “It is quite a success and also feasible for us on our Mumbai-Pune route. Given the success and good response we are mulling over adding 50 more buses of the same configuration by October-November this year. These new buses will subsequently make way for buses that are older than 6 years, and our fleet strength will grow from the current 150 to 200 vehicles in the near future,” informs Mr. Savla.
The company has also invested in 20 sleeper coaches from Bharat Benz and are designed by the Belgaum-based MG Group. These luxurious sleeper coaches ply on the Mumbai-Goa, Kolhapur and Pune-Ahmedabad, Pune-Jamnagar, Pune-Rajkot routes. In order to attract customers and give them peace of mind the company has invested in hotel properties at strategic destinations. “We have 8 hotel properties. This includes key locations like Neeta Inns at Lonavala, Pushkar Mela Resort in Thane and Hotel Shanti Villa in Mahabaleshwar. We have spread hotels even to Shirdi and Nashik,” he discloses.
For the people
Neeta Tours and Travels also extends the ease to commuters in terms of providing them convenient options to book tickets as well efforts to provide them comfortable waiting shelters. Mr. Savla observes: “We ensure that all commuters can book our bus tickets using the Neetabus app or website as well as from other popular ticketing websites and our booking agents. To facilitate the customer is our top priority, and hence we make sure he also gets notified with SMSes about his boarding time, departure and GPRS links. With the help of Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatna, we are demanding queue and waiting shelters at important pick-up points in Mumbai. We have been maintaining one such shelter at Kandivali East near the Highway with the help of the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatna. The shelter has got a capacity of 100 people with facilities for refreshments. We wish to replicate the same in other areas of Mumbai such as Borivali, Goregaon, Andheri, Khar and Bandra.”
Apart from serving daily commuters, the company also undertakes chartered booking, week-end getaways, like Adlab Imagica, Wada, Igatpuri, etc. To boost its business for the daily working-class travellers, they are attaching 30 buses of the Bharat Benz buses with the aggregator Citiflow. “We will give our 30 buses of Bharat Benz 917, 2X2 configuration for a fixed contract with the Citiflow app on weekdays. These buses will ply between Thane to BKC and Thane to Goregaon as a special premium vehicle under the popular city-based app,” reveals Mr. Savla.
While thinking about the 
many initiatives for the people, Neeta Tours and Travels does not forget the important cog of the wheel, the pilot of the road and a vital element of the entire transport eco-system – DRIVERS. “We have drivers on our payroll and are entitled for ESI, PF and incentives from time to time. They are also entitled for daily allowances provided the fuel efficiency average is met. We at least expect a 5 km/l average as the drivers are trained on the vehicle on behalf of the OEMs by the dealership,” he adds.
Thanks to the diligent human resource management, Neeta Tours and Travels have 150 drivers, 50 per cent of whom have been working for over a decade. Another factor he attributes to the loyalty of its drivers are the superlative vehicles serviced and managed by Mr. Anil Bhai Savla, his brother, at the company’s 2-acre workshop close to the head office. “My brother has been maintaining the time-table for the entire service duration, vehicle kilometers and wear and tear of components. From wheel alignment to work with the engine, we have had OEMs network helping out at our workshop and is the backbone of our efficient operation. Thanks to his preventive actions we haven’t had a single casualty in the last five years. We also keep a couple of buses at spare to press in as replacement in case there is any casualty,” boasts Mr. Sunil.
Started with just one car for local city operation in 1980 by Bachubhai Savla, Neeta Tours and Travels has grown with its perseverance, consistency and an eye on the changing times. “From one car in 1982 to a few second-hand buses in 1986 for organizing picnics and leasing them for weddings, my father did it all. During 1992-2000, we had 40 buses for Mumbai-Shirdi, Mumbai Mahabaleshwar and Mumbai darshan. Since 2002 we purchased Volvo buses and gave a premium make-over to the passenger travel and expanded to 500 agents. Today we are growing at 15 per cent per annum and look to end FY19-20 with a turnover of Rs. 80 crores from Rs. 65 crores we did last year,” signs off Mr. Savla.
Today, even the third generation of Savla’s have entered the business and help in route planning, expansion and integration of digital modes for growth. Given the gamut of operation and up-to-date fleet management system, Neeta Tours and Travels is certainly keeping pace with the changing times!