How has your journey been?
We started about twelve years ago with a clear idea of improving people’s long distance travel in India. It is a unique market shaped heavily by migration. Jobs are concentrated in a few cities. People travel from across the country, creating a constant need for reliable and affordable travel. We began with trains through RailYatri, which has since become a widely used platform. Building on that, we launched IntrCity SmartBus with the aim of bringing a train-like experience to bus travel, making it safer and dependable. This also aligned with broader changes like the significant increase in highway infrastructure investment. As a result, today people prefer to travel by road. Bus journeys that were of 400 kilometre range have now extended to around 650 kilometres. We believe that in the next five years, even 1000 kilometre journeys will become common.
What is your business model?
We partner with bus operators and plan pricing, revenue generation and customer satisfaction. Operators take care of the running part, allowing both sides to build a fulfilling value proposition. We work on revenue sharing and an asset light model where we cover each other’s expenses and the remaining are shared equally. We have reached about 100 operators across India and our fleet will be reaching 700 buses.
How important is the Tamil Nadu market for you?
Tamil Nadu, from a state and bus-wise perspective, is one of our biggest markets. About 60 per cent of our business comes from here. We connect most of the Tier-2 and Tier- 3 towns to Madurai, Chennai and Coimbatore, our three major hubs. Tamil Nadu customers are knowledgeable and love their buses. They have challenged us to get better and that is the reason we find the state to be one of the most progressive markets. Andhra Pradesh, too, is a similar market.
Are operators willing to invest in redesigning the busses?
To begin with, we have invested significantly in understanding what works best and then convert those learnings into clear design standards that operators can customise when they are building their busses from scratch. In the initial years, we focused heavily on research and development to determine the most effective design for onboard washrooms. Now, this has been standardised and shared with body-builders to incorporate seamlessly into their bus configurations.
What are the key challenges?
I personally believe that the bus industry in India is fragmented and probably 15–20 years behind the airline industry. To overcome that, standardisation is mandatory. Customers, too, expect the same. They would like to know what to expect when they get in. As an industry ,we must keep working towards that.
Can you brief us on your financial position?
We have raised about Rs 300-400 crore. Investors are supporting us to build systems, improve safety, create better boarding points and invest in R&D. We are growing at 50–60 per cent year over year. In FY 2026, we would reach around Rs 700 crore in revenue and in the next one to one-and-a-half years, we should reach about Rs 1000 crore.