Hyderabad-based Bus Alliance India Pvt. Ltd. runs Abhibus.com, one of the most well-known online bus ticketing platforms in the country. Over the last four years, Bus Alliance India has garnered huge praise and appreciation from different quarters of the country’s bus industry.
The reason? It’s masterstroke of introducing the ‘India Bus Awards’ to honor and recognize the champions and off-screen heroes of the bus sector.
Having been associated with the India Bus Awards since its first edition, we spoke to Mr. Biju Mathews, Director, Bus Alliance India, and COO, Abhibus.com, to know more about the laudable initiative and the kind of response it has evoked from the various stakeholders in the industry.
Excerpts:
How and why did Abhibus come up with the idea of India Bus Awards? How has your experience been over the last four years of hosting the event?
Bus Alliance India Pvt. Ltd., a organization formed with the core objective of catalysing the Indian bus industry, came up with the idea of honouring and rewarding the Indian bus industry for excellence.
Abhibus has always been driving the philosophy of putting passengers first; we wanted the bus operator community to embrace this philosophy and the only way that would have been possible was when fleet operators were recognized and rewarded for excellence.
The awards platform was a perfect fit for Abhibus to push operators to strive for excellence. The experience has been overwhelming for us to work closely with Bus Alliance to help them get nominations for the awards from the fleet operator community.
After four editions we are happy that we chose to be a part of the India Bus Awards which has today become the only credible awards for the Indian bus industry.
The bus and coach sector definitely lacked a focused awards platform before the India Bus Awards were instituted. How has the industry, especially the fleet operators (both private and public) received the initiative?
The awards platform was instituted purely to bring together the entire ecosystem of the Indian bus industry together, right from fleet operators (private and government), bus manufacturers, bus body builders, bus associations (private and government), technology providers, etc., to discuss, debate and celebrate the country’s bus industry.
As everything new is looked at from a sceptical perspective, so was the India Bus Awards. But I’m sure, today, after four editions the entire community looks forward to the India Bus Awards every year.
The India Bus Awards platform brings together the entire bus industry eco-system to discuss issues within the industry, share best practices and most importantly celebrate worthy winners every year.
We could see a sharp rise in partners and associates in the fourth edition of the Awards which clearly shows that more brands and stakeholders are keen on associating with India Bus Awards. What are your views on this trend? What are your plans to give more visibility and exposure for your partners?
Yes, you are right; the growing interest goes to show that the status of the awards has tremendously improved over the four editions. We are focused on building an industry platform, run by the industry for the growth of the industry that recognizes excellence and benefits all players from the industry.
I wouldn’t call it a trend; it just shows that industry players are coming together to fuel and grow the industry. On visibility and exposure, we intend to use all media formats right from print, electronic and social media to ensure that the participation and status of the awards improves which will automatically enhance the benefits for all partners.
According to you, what are the top three requirements from a government policy or industry consensus perspective for the bus & coach sector to progress and evolve in the coming years?
The bus & coach market in India has seen significant growth in the recent past and new opportunities have been created in the sector due to quality infrastructure, entry of international brands and other regulatory reforms.
This has resulted in raising the benchmark in the Indian bus & coach segment right from upgrading the quality of their products on the levels of comfort, safety & sustainability, thereby putting passengers first.
Making new infrastructure affordable and attractive to use, relaxation on taxation, government & private collaborations will surely roll the wheels of fortune and growth for the Indian bus & coach sector.
Lastly, what can we expect from Abhibus in the coming years with respect to India Bus Awards and other such initiatives for the welfare of the people transportation sector?
As said earlier, Abhibus will collaborate with industry organisations like Bus Alliance India to improve the status of the Indian bus industry. We have recently aligned with the Indian Bus Awards Foundation to help communities within the sector and have also launched India Bus Safety Awards.
In the coming years, the India Bus Awards will seek nominations from all stakeholders within the sector to make it one large platform where the industry comes to discuss, debate and celebrate.