Canara Pinto – Transporting people, creating memories

Canara Pinto (Nityadar) Travels offers long-distance travel service connecting Mangaluru and Bengaluru to Mumbai. At the company’s headquarters in Mumbai, Rajesh Rajgor connects with Managing Director Sunil Pais to understand his company’s successful journey in the field of intercity travel

Sunil Pais, Managing Director, Canara Pinto Travels

If you are going to put your heart and soul into your business, as all great entrepreneurs do, there has to be a deeper purpose that lifts your business and propels you forward. One thing that stood out during my interaction with Sunil Pais, Managing Director, Canara Pinto (Nityadar) Travels was his emotional connect with his late maternal grandmother, who had started the travel business in 1952. “My grandmother flagged off the travel business with a few Ambassador cars to facilitate people’s travel between Mumbai and Mangalore. In few years she bought a bus and started ferrying school children. It was named Pinto Travels then. In those days one of her acquaintances was associated with Canara Travels. In subsequent years, the name Canara Pinto Travels became popular and it stayed with the family,” informs Pais.

Today, Canara Pinto buses offer luxury comfort and safety to their travellers. This is done with the help of multi-axle coaches from the stables of Volvo, Scania and Ashok Leyland. The routes they offer include Mumbai – Mangaluru, Mangaluru – Bengaluru, Bengaluru – Mumbai and Mangaluru – Mumbai. When Pais joined the business in 2012, he also expanded the services to routes like Mumbai – Goa, Mumbai – Bellary, Mumbai – Sangli, Mumbai – Kolhapur, Kolhapur – Bangalore and Bangalore – Goa and took the bus count to 52 from seven. However, before he could expand to these many routes he went through a rigorous professional experience. Just like a diamond is first excavated, cut and polished, Pais discovered that his first love was electricals! He excelled at electrical engineering and worked through various jobs, including one in Dubai, before starting his own company Nityadar Electrical Works in the year 2001.

From electricals to travel

His company works on commercial projects in electricals for banks, hospitals, malls and IT companies. “From a 1,000 sq. feet area to a 5 lakh sq. feet project, we work on our clients’ electric requirements, including designing to final fitment. We are currently working for Accenture in Pune and have recently completed Michelin Tyres’ office in Pune. We have a record of finishing the project in 60 to 90 days,” Pais says. Notably, the management of designers, engineers, labourers along with back-office staff requires a lot of diligence and supervision. Having experienced these aspects of man-management at Nityadar Electrical Works, Pais was drawn towards taking a leap of faith in the operations of Canara Pinto Travels. His respect and emotional connect with his late grandmother further inspired him to do well.

Bus, coach and maintenance

One of the first things Pais incorporated from his learning in the electrical business was to offer passengers with modern, swanky and comfortable luxury coaches. He therefore acquired Scania Metrolink buses along with coaches from Volvo. “We have buses from the stable of Scania, Volvo and even Ashok Leyland. These buses include a 2×1 luxury sleeper AC coach with LCD TV and AC 2×2 seater with better leg space for people of all age groups and heights. Every three to four years we try and change our fleets. Our Ashok Leyland fleet is just 2.5 years old. We bought the 12-metre chassis and got the coach built by our trusted bodybuilder Surendra Coach Builders in Ahmedabad. We are soon going to buy six Bharat Benz coaches, of which two will be deployed on the Mumbai – Mangaluru route and four on the Bengaluru – Mumbai route,” he informs.

Pais also ensures that his buses are regularly checked and maintained at his company’s workshop in Mangaluru. “All our buses are maintained by trained mechanics on various parameters like tyre pressure, alternators, engines, brakes. They also maintain a check-list of the work done on the vehicle before the vehicle moves out the Mangaluru garage. This helps in identifying faulty components, warranty for parts, mileage clocked by tyres, etc.,” reveals Pais. With the heritage that Canara Pinto Travels has enjoyed since 1952, the company can not only boast of loyal customers but loyal drivers as well. States Pais: “Most of our passengers are repeat customers and are familiar with our services on the routes we operate,” he says.

Healthy staff relationship

“Keeping pace with the changing times we have online booking through our website where we offer 10% direct discount. We have also facilitated bookings through popular portals like Red Bus, Abhi Bus and Paytm app,” he adds. Canara Pinto also uses the services of 150 booking agents for seamless ticket booking. On the drivers’ front, the company has loyal, trained drivers to ensure commuters’ safety and comfort during the trip. “We maintain a good service standard and every driver has to wear a uniform while on duty,” Pais says. The company also reciprocates with trip incentives, medical insurance and scholarships to their drivers’ children. “We have complete faith and trust in our drivers and that is why many of them have been with us for decades. This is quite unlike the situation elsewhere where travel companies have been facing a severe shortage of drivers,” Pais adds.

“We try to have two drivers on each bus with one assistant and they are also trained in soft skills such as maintaining pleasant etiquette with passengers. Every three months we conduct a training programme for drivers and mechanics at our garage. These are refresher trainings on driving patterns, new observations and regulations, getting accustomed to new vehicles and technology, etc. Most times we also try and invite the drivers’ family members in the evening for food and music. It is a nice bonding activity for everybody,” he shares. As for increasing the company’s fleet size in the present economic slowdown phase or expanding to cover the rest of India, Pais shows cautious optimism. Although he is well-versed with the business operation pan-India, he wants to focus on the southern belt and more on his electrical business.

The way ahead

“We monitor the changing customer preferences, competition and viability of the route before starting any new route. If the expansion plan guarantees remunerative benefits then it makes sense to go ahead with purchasing new coaches for expansion. At the moment the market is a bit slow and the ticket fares are not too encouraging. For instance, we cannot charge beyond Rs. 800 on weekdays on our Mumbai – Bengaluru route and Rs. 550 – 650 on the Mumbai – Mangaluru route. During weekends it goes slightly up by Rs. 200. So we, as part of the Nityadar Group, will work with caution before we look for newer routes or expansion of fleets. Until then, I am happy to sustain the travel business and help people move from one place to another in memory and love of my late grandmother,” he concludes.