In a casual chat with MOTORINDIA, Phani, as he is known among his friends, talks on how redBus commenced operations in a small way, but gathered momentum soon to grow into its present size.
True, in those days there was no organised way of making available seats for passengers in buses which plied on a particular route. Travel agents would make phone calls to bus operators to find out seat availability, a long and tedious process. Phani was quick enough to find an IT-based solution to vastly improve bus ticketing and travel facilities in the country.
Jointly with a couple of his college mates, he worked on a software for bus operators which was later named Bus Operator Software System (BOSSTM). Initially, the software did not have much response from operators as they were not convinced of its viability. Phani had to be content with selling bus seats through ‘quotas’ on www.redBus.in.
The first bus operator to sign up with redBus was Jabbar Travels, while Rajesh Travels was the first operator’s seat to be sold through the site. Both of them are Banaglore-based operators. For three years, the quota-based selling continued. However, with the growth in number of customers, BOSS was relaunched. The operators soon realized the benefits of technology, and buoyed by the prospects of an online ticketing portal, hundreds of them boarded redBus within an year.
Now the country’s largest bus-ticketing company, redBus is currently present in 25 States with 26 offices and seven call centres. It employs around 500 people, offering close to 19,000+ services every day. It has 800+ bus operators, 700 of whom use BOSS. Among them are two government operators, RSRTC in Rajasthan and Goa Kadamba. With many awards already under its belt, redBus had more than doubled its revenue last year. With a turnover of about Rs. 300 crores last year, the company expects this year’s growth to be much better.
Apart from redBus and BOSS, for consumers and bus operators respectively, SeatSellerTM is the company’s face for travel agents. The three brands together provide a well-knit eco-system for the country’s bus transportation industry whose annual worth is $2.5 billion, with 220 million seats being sold every year.
Big IT power
With the entry of multinationals, especially Volvo, and improvement in road infrastructure, the Indian bus industry is witnessing rapid growth. redBus seems to have arrived just at the right time to catalyse the segment’s growth by providing a one-stop portal for bus operators, travel agents and, most importantly, passengers. Information technology seems to stir up a revolution in most fields, including bus transport. Over the last decade, the number of bus operators and bus routes in India has grown exponentially.
redBus has created a level playing field among large and small bus operators, the quality of service provided deciding the operators’ success. The star-rating feedback given by travellers reflects the bus quality, punctuality and staff behaviour. This comes in handy for other customers who visit the site. Also, bus operators have complete trust in the genuineness of feedback received that drives them to improve quality standards in order to rope in more customers. All this has resulted in the whole bus industry in the country moving to a higher level in terms of quality of service, customer satisfaction, comfort, safety, etc.
Another powerful and interesting outcome of the IT-based solution is the identification of potential new routes. When a customer searches for buses on a specific route but fails in his bid, redBus conveys the information over a period of time to bus operators. This system could lead to introduction of new routes, a boon to bus operators as well as travellers. Another possibility through redBus has been to set right the supply-demand mismatch which could divert buses from routes that attract less demand to those which require more buses. Again, it is advantageous both to operators and travellers.
Company statistics reveal that almost 25 per cent of redBus users are first-time bus travellers. Even then the company is expanding the bus industry consumer base by 25 per cent every year. One third of the passengers, around 33 per cent, have switched over to multi-axle vehicles since their entry into the Indian market a decade ago.
redBus has a dedicated team working on new initiatives to improve customer service. One of the latest additions to the site is the ‘tips’, a feature that helps travellers to provide simple and valuable information about the buses to other users.
On the whole, redBus.in has brought about an IT revolution in the Indian bus industry.
