Interstate bus travel in India-some hard won lessons tips

Over the past 5 months, I've had some interstate bus travel, by public and private operators, so thought I would summarize my experience below(mainly in terms of time, comfort dependent on class of travel etc)

 

From	To	Distance(Kms)	Time taken(hrs)	Average Speed	Month	Travel
Bangalore	Coorg	244	8	31	Dec-12	Pvt chartered bus
Bangalore	Chennai	340	4.5	76	Dec-12	KSRTC
Gurgaon	Jaipur	245	5.5	45	Jan-13	RSRTC
Bangalore	Hyderabad	500	8	63	Sep-12	Pvt operator

 Though the Southern states are usually believed to have better roads, the Bangalore-Coorg trip took very long because of winding traffic packed small roads within Coorg, and also because the bus has a speed limiter which stopped it from making up time on National highways! But even otherwise, the roads were quite pathetic on that stretch. Bangalore-Chennai and Bangalore-Hyderabad roads require no introduction, they are very very good. But when it comes to Delhi-Jaipur stretch(mostly on NH-8), then things become strange. There are two main operators, RSRTC(Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation) and HSRTC(Haryana State Road Transport Corporation). I succumbed to availability bias(RSRTC e-ticketing) while booking the tickets, but was had a bad experience in terms of speed, bus comfort and stops selection(expensive overpriced places). Later, a veteran traveller said that HSRTC buses are not only more frequent, but also reach you faster. Also, unlike in the South, private buses are actually cheaper than public transport, atleast in Rajasthan. Some lessons

1. Unlike private operators, state transport buses may not have dedicated customer care/contact numbers where English/Hindi is spoken. So if you do not speak the language or are not familiar with the stops, then god save you!
2. Since public transport buses should easily get full due to (presumably) cheaper rates and reliable timing, unsold seats are a warning of deeper issues(quality, timing etc), which I ignored in RSRTC
3. For long distance, Volvo is better, not only in terms of comfort, but also it is faster, and since likely to be full from starting, lesser unscheduled delays while conductors try to pack the bus
4. No substitute for speaking to veteran travellers on the route, who can not only advice the best bus, but also likely issues(blankets/water etc) for you. 
5. Don't bank on the DVD/seat lights working, not even for good operators-or they may not keep it on 24*7. Hence, do get your earphones etc along. And go for a bus with a charging point, that people vouch for that works! Else kiss your half day good bye
6. The service can be astonishingly good(conductor stops where you want) depending on the state(Karnataka is the best imo, its Airavat class services), and many speak English/Hindi, so don't shy away from Govt owned transport due to language factor, provided you have asked about it.
7. On the plus side, nearly all allow e-ticketing/SMS tickets nowadays, along with web based booking and inexpensive cancellation charges.

 In all, considering difficulty in getting train tickets and comparable travel times on the said routes, inter state bus travel should never be ruled out!