With USD 100 mn outlay, RailYatri to expand intercity bus ops

Online travel startup RailYatri is planning to expand its 'IntrCity' bus service in the country over the next two years by increasing its fleet to 2000 from the existing 65 with an investment of up to USD 100 million, a top official said. Backed by the latest technology, the firm is set to create a multi-modal intercity transportation solution for at least one million passengers who fail to get their train tickets confirmed in a day, he said.

"Our brand IntrCity is already operational in 12 cities with a current fleet of 65 buses. We are working to expand the fleet size to 2,000 with pan-India connectivity on all the important routes over the next two years. "With its increased fleet, IntrCity could possibly become the largest intercity bus service brand in the country," RailYatri Chief Business Officer Swapnil Tripathi told PTI over the phone.

Modeled on European smart bus service Flixbus, IntrCity is currently operational on limited routes in north, west and south India, he said. "We follow the asset-light model and all buses have been taken on lease. We have plans to launch IntrCity services in the east in next fiscal," Tripathi said.

Apart from leveraging its online users, IntrCity is building air-conditioned lounges for passengers with provisions for offline ticket sale. Talking about funding for the expansion project, he said the startup has already raised USD 15 million and another USD 20-25 million is in the pipeline.

Existing investors of RailYatri include Nandan Nilekani, Omidyar Network, Blume Ventures and Helion Ventures. "RailYatri, which began its modest journey in 2011 by providing train information followed by meal-on-train and ticketing services, now seeks a fresh investment of USD 50-60 million over the next 12-15 months for its inter-city bus brand," Tripathi stated.

Asked the reason for foraying into bus service, he said the company's operational insight revealed that inter- city travel beyond 300km was a major problem area and demanded a trusted and reliable solution. "Scaling up meal-on-train and ticketing services has its limitations but we foresee immense opportunity in offering alternative travel solution to those one-million train passengers who fail to get their seats confirmed," Tripathi added.

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