Gone are the days when people used to plan for hours to get their bus reservation. Be it long queues in front of ticket booking offices or prolonged waiting time over the telephone, people had to go through a lot of hassles while booking bus tickets. But now the scenario has completely changed in the Indian bus travel industry. With the increasing popularity and adoption of on-demand bus booking apps, now the entire process of making a bus travel reservation has become quick and hassle-free.
Business Models of Bus Booking App Startups
The online bus booking platforms are based on mainly these two types of business models – aggregated business model and self-owned business model. Let’s have a look at how these work:Aggregator Model
In this business model, the companies partner with various bus operators and travel agencies who actually own and run the buses. The companies entering in this model don’t have to maintain buses. The partners/travel agencies are responsible for their vehicles. In simple words, a bus aggregator company connects buses with customers and take a fee in return for its service.Self-owned Fleet Model
In the self-owned model, bus/fleet owners launch their own apps to better connect with their customers. As they don’t have to pay any fee to anyone to get bookings, the profit margin is bigger than that of the aggregator model.Leading Bus Booking Apps in India
redBus
Founded by Phanindra Sama, Charan Padmaraju and Sudhakar Pasupunuri in August 2006 with a few seats from one bus operator, redBus is today considered as India’s largest online bus ticket booking service provider and trusted by over 8 million happy customers globally. The company offers bus ticket booking through its website, Android and iOS apps for all major routes. Other than buses, redBus provides booking facilities for hotels and outstation cars. Also, it proffers pilgrimage tour packages.MakeMyTrip
When it comes to listing down the best bus booking apps in India, the discussion cannot be completed without mentioning the impact of MakeMyTrip in today’s travel booking market. It is not just a bus booking company, over the years it has become India’s largest travel portal.Founded in 2000 by Deep Kalra, MakeMyTrip initiated its journey serving the US-India travel market offering a range of best-value products and services powered by technology and round-the-clock customer support. In 2005, it launched its India operations, providing travelers the convenience of booking travel with just a few taps.
Paytm Bus Booking
Paytm, based out of Noida, founded by Vijay Sekhar Sharma in 2010, is actually an online payment system and digital wallet company. Later in 2015, the company tied up with leading bus aggregators in India and launched its bus ticket marketplace.TicketGoose
TicketGoose is another India’s leading bus ticket booking portal, serving more than 3000 destinations pan India with 10,000+ buses plying on 20,000+ routes. Other than its website, you can book tickets in a hassle-free way from its Android and iOS apps as well. Founded by Arun Athiappan and Karthi Easwaramoorthy in 2007, this Chennai based company bets on people and customers by providing consistent value, service, support, and the best usability. Other than booking buses, TicketGoose offers the convenience of booking taxis and hotels.Leading Apps for Intra-City Commute
Shuttl
Shuttl is a one-stop solution for all the daily office goers who seek stress-free, space-efficient, comfortable, affordable and safe commute options. Founded in 2005, Shuttl is now considered as India’s largest office employee transportation solutions service provider, serving over 45,000 rides daily in several major cities. It covers over 150 long routes and operates a fleet of around 800 buses. Using the Shuttl app, users can discover the best routes across their cities, choose a suitable time slot, book the seats and finally get shuttle details and track in real time.Ridlr
Launched by Brijraj Vaghani and Ravi Khemani in 2012, Ridlr is India’s first local transit app, making intra-city commute smart, easy and cashless. Facilitating mainly around Mumbai, Ridlr app’s USP is that users can buy BEST bus tickets, passes and even recharge metro cards using the app. Also, it provides public transport schedule, local timetables and timely notifications on public transport updates.Read More About Bus Ticket Booking App Here.
