Let me present an analogy (a naive one). It's like asking 'Why is Google innovative? It is just a normal search engine. There existed already a dozen search providers..' Google found a problem in the existing systems and came out with a simple yet outstanding solution. That's what innovators do. In this case RedBus is the first to provide Online Bus Ticket booking service in India.
To understand 'the innovation' behind it you need to understand the complexity behind the process compared to booking rail or airline tickets.
Railways - Only one operator, Indian Railways. Everything is already co
Let me present an analogy (a naive one). It's like asking 'Why is Google innovative? It is just a normal search engine. There existed already a dozen search providers..' Google found a problem in the existing systems and came out with a simple yet outstanding solution. That's what innovators do. In this case RedBus is the first to provide Online Bus Ticket booking service in India.
To understand 'the innovation' behind it you need to understand the complexity behind the process compared to booking rail or airline tickets.
Railways - Only one operator, Indian Railways. Everything is already computerized and organized by CRIS since more than 2 decades. Timetable published every year
Airways - A service for the elite. There has to be proper mechanism. Every airline has it's own fully functional state of the art computerized booking systems. They just had to write APIs which would later be used by online ticketing services. Flight operations are usually punctual except in stormy weathers (and kingfisher)
Bus Operators - None of the ticketing services had ventured in this area. Reasons? There were hundreds of bus operators who were not exactly literate (forget computers). More than a dozen operators in each state. More than a dozen languages. The passengers are middle class families who would think twice before spending online in a private agency that books tickets for private operators. Concept of punctuality didn't exist. Who is going to vouch for that? These are just the main factors. There can be a dozen other problems like : different facilities like seats, via-routes, food, lack of alternatives etc etc..
Many dissuaded them by saying it was not possible and why they wanted to get into such an area, why would people book bus ticket on the Internet, and so on.
Another question that we faced was, how much money they would make from a bus ticket that costs around Rs 500? Another possible reason which they won't say in public but surely exists in the open. Agent Mafia - Before RedBus, for more than 20 years, the sale of tickets was handled by various agents in various locations who all worked using the telephone. Each had his share of quota. Why would they plainly hand over their earnings to another bunch of guys (in their 20s) with a laptop who knows nothing about the business. They have manged to find peace in the chaos
All this was functional. Lets move on to technical. It's not possible to get all operators under the same umbrella. They wouldn't share data or assign a separate quota for these guys. So write custom software for every operator (and agents) and use web services to keep everybody in sync. Now, Tickets are purchased through the company’s website or through the Web services of its agents and partners. The company offers software, on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis, which gives bus operators the option of handling their own ticketing and managing their own inventories. To date, the company says they have sold over 2 million bus tickets and has more than 100 bus operators using the software to manage their operations.
All this with a simple and clean interface and with a pure dedication they have truly achieved very much in a very short span of time. Someday a Reliance or Indiatimes can easily pour in money to establish parallel enterprises with an intention of entirely sweeping out the competition but it's not possible in the near future because they have manged to build a trust with their customers, who rely on their peer ratings and vice-a-verse. Today more than half of their competitors have built their systems on the hard work of RedBus. Some operators even act as double agents on top of RedBus viz they sell tickets using RedBus's infrastructure on a commission basis.
TL;DR : RedBus is innovative
Further reading :
How redBus made it to the world's top 50 innovations list
Amazon Web Services
Innovation - Type 2 - Network and Alliances [Case: RedBus]
I have had some sort of internal view of
Redbus.in [ http://RedBus.in ]
right from when we at
Seedfund [ http://seedfund.in ]
invested in them in 2006, and have seen the company grow into something we're all very proud of. Please adjust for my possible bias as you read this.
RedBus is as much a normal bus ticket booking site as Google is a normal search engine.
I will talk about RedBus' innovation
I have had some sort of internal view of
Redbus.in [ http://RedBus.in ]
right from when we at
Seedfund [ http://seedfund.in ]
invested in them in 2006, and have seen the company grow into something we're all very proud of. Please adjust for my possible bias as you read this.
RedBus is as much a normal bus ticket booking site as Google is a normal search engine.
I will talk about RedBus' innovation at 3 levels: macro: the businesses it chose to be, to mid-level: its strategic thinking to the micro: its day-to-day processes.
At the macro level, imagine this. You want to go home to Hyderabad from Bangalore - and you hate the fact that you have no idea which bus will have seats to take you there, and when that is scheduled to leave. That's when you figure out that, hey, perhaps you can solve the problem. And perhaps you can build a business while doing so.
Then you dive in over a period of months and find India has more than 5,000 inter-city bus operators with 5 to 500 buses each. And the enormity of the task grabs you.
There is no GDS - Global Distribution System, like Amadeus or Galileo to plug in to, like MMT and Expedia do for flights. So there is no inventory to sell, actually.
So you create the inventory from the ground up. You decide you need to start at the bottom, build out the GDS for this industry. You actually build the bus booking eco system at 3 levels simultaneously - the GDS across operators; the booking system / ERP for each individual bus operator - so they become e-enabled and can control which seat goes to whom; and then the booking site at the retail level that we all see, where the public books tickets.
You fight 3 large wars at one time, under a code of silence, with very little money - relatively speaking - and with a huge sense of urgency to get it done before too many folks wake up. Tell me that's not innovative.
Then we come to the mid-level of this pyramid. The broad strategies.
Guess what, we at Seedfund routinely announce the funding, and soon see three other competing companies get funded with 3 to 4 times the money, within 6 months.
Stupid us. We as a fund then learn to NOT announce any funding till it's the right time for the funded company. Sometimes that might be more than a year after the event.
Anyway, back to RedBus and their strategies. The company has to figure out a way to win all of India before the rest get in. It can do an expensive slash-and-burn by running wide across India simultaneously. Or instead do a Genghis-Khan-like "win one territory, establish your rule, the win the next" mode. It chooses the latter.
Starting with Bangalore - Hyderabad. Fills up buses for operators on this route. And then figures out there's even more value for the operator if they can fill up the return route. Then, over time, adds a route. Grows to dominate it, make the operators happy. Then adds another. And another. By now operators - both private and government - are asking RedBus to grow to sell their other routes. They do, slowly and steadily.
Always keep the bus owners happy. Never hike commission, just match the amount owners pay to offline agents and touts - so owners don't get nervous. Talk to the bus owners frequently - how many engineering grads believe their calling is to spend 7 years talking to the chettiars, sethjis and other pot-bellied folks who own inter-state bus companies - and become their trusted confidants? These guys took the trouble.
Not just win good buzz from operators - but win buzz from consumers too. And do so without spending on media - like all the other funded folks were doing.
Till a month ago, did you ever see a RedBus TV commercial? Or a Print Ad? Nope.
The company grew from selling 2 seats a day to selling a million seats a month for a middle-class product meant for middle-class Indians - remember these are inter-city bus tickets - with no offline media spend. Eat your heart out, FMCG marketers.
This is what they did: use a little digital, intelligently. Track word of mouth maniacally. And win customer hearts, booking after booking. Apologise for mistakes. Work to rectify them. And focus again, maniacally, to create a delighted customer.
And all this while, resist the temptation to diversify. Could they have sold air tickets too? Or lodging at each bus stop? Or holidays to sight-seeing destinations? Or train-bus combinations? Sure. Did they? No.
Do give credit not just to what they chose to do, but also to what they d...
Somewhere, somehow you lost the meaning of the word "Innovation". Innovation has nothing to do with being "different' or being "so complicated that nobody can understand what you do".
Innovation has a lot to do with business models - and very little or nothing to do with ideas and cool technologies.
You know when Our telecom operators stopped thinking of themselves as telecom operators, but started looking at themselves as minutes manufacturing entities and how they can produce the cheapest per minute call in the world? And they did (India, today provides the cheapest telecom service in the worl
Somewhere, somehow you lost the meaning of the word "Innovation". Innovation has nothing to do with being "different' or being "so complicated that nobody can understand what you do".
Innovation has a lot to do with business models - and very little or nothing to do with ideas and cool technologies.
You know when Our telecom operators stopped thinking of themselves as telecom operators, but started looking at themselves as minutes manufacturing entities and how they can produce the cheapest per minute call in the world? And they did (India, today provides the cheapest telecom service in the world). That's innovation. They need better customer service, thats perhaps the next space awaiting "innovation"
Innovation has commercial and business model implications, and almost none on the "coolness" factor. Yep, really sorry to disappoint you there :)
My definition of Innovation goes something like this: Any incremental or logical-next step improvement of an existing service, which makes things cheaper-better-faster (all or one of them) which in turn will enable the benefactors to manage their margins better and give them an edge over their competitors. Innovation is a fundamental moat building (Warren Buffett on castles and moats) activity.
Redbus does that, and all - for both the operators and the end-customer. So yes its not a cool technology, but its one of those services that after sometime - God forbid they disappear - we will scratch our heads and wonder how on earth we lived in an era before Redbus. That's their contribution.
Redbus.in is considered innovative in the bus ticket booking space for several reasons, despite being a platform for a service that might seem conventional. Here are some key aspects of its innovation:
- User-Friendly Interface: Redbus offers a seamless and intuitive user experience both on its website and mobile app. The platform allows users to easily search for buses, compare options, and make bookings with minimal hassle.
- Wide Selection of Operators: Redbus aggregates a large number of bus operators, giving users a wide range of choices in terms of routes, timings, and pricing. This extensive
Redbus.in is considered innovative in the bus ticket booking space for several reasons, despite being a platform for a service that might seem conventional. Here are some key aspects of its innovation:
- User-Friendly Interface: Redbus offers a seamless and intuitive user experience both on its website and mobile app. The platform allows users to easily search for buses, compare options, and make bookings with minimal hassle.
- Wide Selection of Operators: Redbus aggregates a large number of bus operators, giving users a wide range of choices in terms of routes, timings, and pricing. This extensive network helps to increase competition among operators and improve service quality.
- Real-Time Tracking: The platform provides real-time bus tracking features, allowing passengers to monitor their bus's location and estimated arrival times. This enhances the travel experience by reducing uncertainty.
- Customer Reviews and Ratings: Redbus allows users to leave feedback and rate their travel experiences. This feature helps other users make informed decisions based on past experiences and encourages operators to maintain high standards.
- Secure Payment Options: The site offers multiple secure payment options, including digital wallets, net banking, and credit/debit cards, making transactions convenient and safe.
- Mobile App and Features: The Redbus app includes features like ticket cancellation, rescheduling options, and notifications about bus schedules, which enhance user engagement and convenience.
- Partnerships and Integrations: Redbus has formed partnerships with various stakeholders in the travel ecosystem, including hotels and travel agencies, allowing users to plan their entire journey in one place.
- Innovative Marketing Strategies: The company has employed creative marketing strategies, including discounts, referral programs, and promotional campaigns, to attract and retain customers.
- Focus on Customer Support: Redbus emphasizes customer service, offering support through multiple channels to assist users with their bookings and inquiries.
- Data-Driven Insights: The platform leverages data analytics to understand customer preferences and improve services, ultimately enhancing user satisfaction.
By integrating technology and a customer-centric approach, Redbus has transformed the traditional bus ticket booking experience into a more efficient and user-friendly service, setting itself apart from competitors in the market.
Since everyone so far seems to think very strongly that Redbus is innovation, one needs a Devil's Advocate:
We aren't privy to the actual innovation done unlike Mahesh Murthy. We see the result and think that there might / must have been innovation. That's Mahesh's argument, isn't it. "They built a GDS from scratch, tell me that's not innovative". Well, I don't know Mahesh - it might be innovative, or it might be a copy-paste on the code and a bully job on ground. They might have gotten lucky too. If it were indeed innovative, it might be nice for you to tell us what the actual innovation was
Since everyone so far seems to think very strongly that Redbus is innovation, one needs a Devil's Advocate:
We aren't privy to the actual innovation done unlike Mahesh Murthy. We see the result and think that there might / must have been innovation. That's Mahesh's argument, isn't it. "They built a GDS from scratch, tell me that's not innovative". Well, I don't know Mahesh - it might be innovative, or it might be a copy-paste on the code and a bully job on ground. They might have gotten lucky too. If it were indeed innovative, it might be nice for you to tell us what the actual innovation was so that we might appreciate it. But your answer seems to say: "Oh, look this is so awesome, you have to agree that it's innovative." Quite a fanboy answer, if you ask me.
Also, why this urge to be recognized as innovative? A few companies constantly feel the need to be called innovative, creative, and what not. Take Flipkart for instance - codejams, photo-connect-quizzes, etc, etc - it spends so much time trying to tell us that Flipkart is so innovative and creative and cool. Redbus keeps cool. So why care?
I, for one, don't care if Redbus is innovative or not. As long as it works. I still remember my first Redbus trip: getting onto the bus with a printed redbus ticket where the conductor called me " the online customer". It worked then, it works now. It's awesome. I sincerely hope that Redbus doesn't get into the trap of having to be "innovative" just to attract fanboys.
Yes its "just" a ticket booking site.
Some pain points need brilliant execution, not innovation. That's what RedBus did.
I dont understand why there is a question on the innovation part of redbus may be they want to know why it got good valuation from the buyer.
A good business is not made just by having innovative ideas. Even a very simple business with good execution becomes a great one. Take example like HDFC Bank etc
Redbus built a robust network before anyone did and they kept it very simple (KISS model) and did all things right. They slowly started growing.
Its our thinking that great business need complex solutions. No When Simple things are done in simple and right way it becomes a sucess. Take many busin
I dont understand why there is a question on the innovation part of redbus may be they want to know why it got good valuation from the buyer.
A good business is not made just by having innovative ideas. Even a very simple business with good execution becomes a great one. Take example like HDFC Bank etc
Redbus built a robust network before anyone did and they kept it very simple (KISS model) and did all things right. They slowly started growing.
Its our thinking that great business need complex solutions. No When Simple things are done in simple and right way it becomes a sucess. Take many business around the world which anyone can do but still have one outstanding leader among them. There lies the secret of simplicity.
1. RedBus identified a real problem (which many other people identified).
2. RedBus solved the problem. Yes, This makes them innovative.
They were innovative even with the initial funding they got. Probably the best thing they did when they went in for vc funding from Kanwal Reiki, was not to think if the valuation was right but more about the kind of experience he brings to the table.
What an industry needs are people who have no idea on how it operates. People that don’t know that there are any rules. While it is good to break rules and to push boundaries, it’s much better to just never know that any rule exists..:)
It is impossible to deliver a flawless experience like red bus does without technical excellence. Technical excellence is impossible with high quality system architecture. it requires a lot of system innovation to glue a smooth business process.
RedBus has been so successful in masking it's technical complexity that we think there is no innovation at all.
Innovation is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for a startup to succeed in the market place.
In the context of companies, especially startups, it is important to have a good business case based on a strong value proposition. If the value proposition has an element of innovation - whether in the concept, product, business model, operating plan, positioning, HR, cost structures, scale, or indeed anything else - it is useful.
Think of Indigo Airlines. One could argue that is is just another airline. However, when you think of how they operate, you may conclude that they innovate at ev
Innovation is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for a startup to succeed in the market place.
In the context of companies, especially startups, it is important to have a good business case based on a strong value proposition. If the value proposition has an element of innovation - whether in the concept, product, business model, operating plan, positioning, HR, cost structures, scale, or indeed anything else - it is useful.
Think of Indigo Airlines. One could argue that is is just another airline. However, when you think of how they operate, you may conclude that they innovate at every level of operations management.
'Innovation' is anything one changes that contributes to better quality of life for a group of people by creating more value than there was before the change was infused - whether it be in terms of cost, time, ease of use or whatever that matters to the group. What RedBus did was a disruption. It was not merely '10% better' incremental innovation but the innovation that disrupted the market by presenting a new way to book tickets. Its not just with technology but also in getting most seat inventories for a wide range of destinations under its umbrella.
Too much jargon flying around here. Redbus is a cool INITIATIVE that came in when there was no similar product in the Indian market and there was a real need for such a platform. There were similar models existing in other countries at that point. An INNOVATION would be what they do to to change that existing model and take it in a new direction. Redbus, I'm glad to say, remains largely unchanged, offering a basic product without unnecessary frills. All the same, kudos to Redbus for making the word Redbus almost as much a household name as Google in India!
From customer point of view I think its innovative in below aspects
1 . User friendly interface - u can understand very easily n clearly what to do next while booking.
2 few steps to book ticket
3 good service - it never happened that money is cut from account and did not get ticket. as it happens in irctc .
In a market driven by hype, I am guessing it kept on working on the boring things - moved early, kept costs low, focused on the customer, spent time at bus stops more than cozy cabins and focused on something that was less glamorous for the big boys. In the indian ecommerce market, being sane in itself is being different and innovative. Maybe process innovation (dont know much about technology innovation). Congratulations to them.
When we see the lower parts like integrating the conservative old owners and contractors , that's where Redbus plays the part. Obviously anybody can think of implementing a system like this with minimal coding logic.But implementation is not always a part that succeed a good idea or innovation.
"Improvisation is also an innovation."
Like : Facebook is not a new thing but a improvised version of orkut, friendster, myspace.
You have answered your own question. The fact that bus ticket booking site is normal today needs tons of innovation in process, technology, consumer understanding, channel marketing etc.
Absolutely totally agree with Mahesh , Its a big win for startups where this business was able to get user traction totally based on execution and not big budget advertising...
The redBus story is a long one. The founder has struggled to get a bus ticket on Diwali to travel home and later found out that some buses went empty. He thought that in modern internet age this shouldn't happen. But the industry is a monopoly of agents and they wouldn't allow anyone to take that away, let alone a geeky customer.
He then started with a software that would manage the logistics of a bus. It would be a basic seat management software. This software was very hard to sell. The bus operators were not really interested in this. They were happy with the way things were (typical old scho
The redBus story is a long one. The founder has struggled to get a bus ticket on Diwali to travel home and later found out that some buses went empty. He thought that in modern internet age this shouldn't happen. But the industry is a monopoly of agents and they wouldn't allow anyone to take that away, let alone a geeky customer.
He then started with a software that would manage the logistics of a bus. It would be a basic seat management software. This software was very hard to sell. The bus operators were not really interested in this. They were happy with the way things were (typical old school business mindset). Then came the need for redbus. He thought, to hell with it. I'll only run like the agents with my site. With this he got limited seats reserved on buses for booking through redbus. That's how they started. Soon the bus operators saw the benefits and moved to the seat management software they had created. Now we see all bus operators run their own online booking sites. Thus we moved from a market of touts and greedy agents to the cheapest winner and open market. Very few startups can claim a similar impact on they industry.
I had the worst experience of life with Red bus services. I will not recommend this website. We end up cancelling our trip. There is no customer support.
If it is about serving people with some more options to book bus tickets and facilitate them; there is no harm to be in the list of same services. You can see others as well dealing in the same sector.
I'll write about a particular experience of mine with http://redbus.in.
Here it goes:
I study in Goa and had to go to Kolhapur for an appointment with a doctor. All the trains were in the early morning so I thought that I'll book a bus and go. So I booked 2 buses - one to reach Kolhapur and one for return trip the next day.
The bus returning was to depart at 11:00 PM.
I met my doctor at 7:00 PM and the consultation was over by 8:30 PM. I listened to music, roamed around, had coffee and did whatever I could to pass time. It was completely a new city to me.
At 10:00 PM I got a call from the bus in
I'll write about a particular experience of mine with http://redbus.in.
Here it goes:
I study in Goa and had to go to Kolhapur for an appointment with a doctor. All the trains were in the early morning so I thought that I'll book a bus and go. So I booked 2 buses - one to reach Kolhapur and one for return trip the next day.
The bus returning was to depart at 11:00 PM.
I met my doctor at 7:00 PM and the consultation was over by 8:30 PM. I listened to music, roamed around, had coffee and did whatever I could to pass time. It was completely a new city to me.
At 10:00 PM I got a call from the bus incharge. He told me to be at the pickup point at 10:30 PM. The pickup point was about 2-3 kms from the main bus hub. I said okay and waited there till 12:00 AM. I didn't get any call. I tried calling the bus incharge and he wasn't picking up the phone.
Then I called redbus customer care and unfortunately no one works there till 12:00 AM. So no luck there.
Then at 12:30 AM, I got a call from the bus incharge and he told me that he had given my seat to someone else and the bus had already left for Goa. WTF?
I argued with him asking him how he could do that when I'd already paid for the ticket. I had the confirmation also. He started abusing me and at the same time telling me to wait for the 2:00 AM bus IF I wanted to go to Goa.
When I told him that he can't do this, he said and I quote "Ab tu Goa pahunch ke dikha. Main bhi dekhta hoon kaise pahunchta hai Goa tu."
I had to get a ticket for another bus from the main bus stop to get back to Goa.
I pushed my concern to redbus and they refunded the ticket money after a lot of email exchanges.
So my concerns with redbus:
- They managed nothing. The bus incharge told me to wait at the pickup point and then gave my seat to someone else and left without me. He didn't even care to inform me.
- They were unreachable at the time of need. If their business runs 24/7 then their customer support also should.
- Unprofessional, even at giving an apology. I had to tell them everything and then had to wait for them to confirm it with the bus people. Then I got the refund after a lot of waiting.
What innovation?
This is another crappy and copied version of Redbus.
I booked a ticket in April 2023 from Delhi Anand Vihar to Haldwani from Redbus. The redbus website showed so many amenities for the bus and the ratings were also good. I booked a sleeper AC bus, but it didn’t turn out as I expected. It was a sleeper bus with working AC but the condition of the bus was very poor, there was no hygiene inside the bus, the bedsheet felt as they weren't washed since decades and the bus was bouncing up and down all the way. All this doesn’t stop here at the end of the journey the driver stopped the vehicle at the entrance of haldwani and didn’t even went inside till
I booked a ticket in April 2023 from Delhi Anand Vihar to Haldwani from Redbus. The redbus website showed so many amenities for the bus and the ratings were also good. I booked a sleeper AC bus, but it didn’t turn out as I expected. It was a sleeper bus with working AC but the condition of the bus was very poor, there was no hygiene inside the bus, the bedsheet felt as they weren't washed since decades and the bus was bouncing up and down all the way. All this doesn’t stop here at the end of the journey the driver stopped the vehicle at the entrance of haldwani and didn’t even went inside till the Haldwani bus station. He told that the breaks are not working so they wont go further and will stop here only. Everyone had to get down from the bus and had to go by booking a e-rickshaw. The bus driver simply didnt wanted to drive into the market traffic is what I feel as it was 5PM. I didn’t find any proper grievance redressal source on the Redbus website in particular. So I would rate Redbus a 2/5
booked ticket for 1st sep 2024, but to my surprise, the date shown in the ticket was 30th Aug. Immediately tried to change the date (as it was written on the ticket itself that "free date change". But they said, cancellation/date change time is over.)
Tried to contact cust care, but I doubt if at all they have a human support. At last contacted support guys through chat and she said, ur date change time is over. For your info - ticket booked at 3.56pm, and as per her, the cancellation/date change time is until 1pm only (ie. we have to cancel or change date even before booking the ticket, funny.
booked ticket for 1st sep 2024, but to my surprise, the date shown in the ticket was 30th Aug. Immediately tried to change the date (as it was written on the ticket itself that "free date change". But they said, cancellation/date change time is over.)
Tried to contact cust care, but I doubt if at all they have a human support. At last contacted support guys through chat and she said, ur date change time is over. For your info - ticket booked at 3.56pm, and as per her, the cancellation/date change time is until 1pm only (ie. we have to cancel or change date even before booking the ticket, funny...).
She said, redbus can not do anything, and asked me to contact the bus operator. When I spoke to them, they said, they cant do anything, only redbus can cancel it. Someone should be responsible, I believe, as redbus took money from me, its their responsibility.
I have the screen shot of ticket (where its clearly written "free date change"), and all the chat history with the cust support.
Redbus, this is not fair and right.
1. there is tech issue, where selected and and booked dates are diff
2. You are giving false promises (free date change)
3. negligence and avoidance - not responding to customers
4. asking for moon - giving a cancellation window till 1pm where the actual booking time itself is 3.56pm
Guys, please be very very cautious when u book ticket with REDBUS, yes, its RED, enter at your own risk
I used to work in the engineering team of redBus and don’t know the exact process of how redBus contracts a bus operator, but I will try and explain it.
Currently redBus has become so synonymous with online bus ticketing that bus operators would generally like to listed on redBus for maximum bus occupancy, unless the operator runs services in very remote areas.
Bus operators will have some kind of inventory system running at their end, popular ones are Bitla or Mantis. If they don’t have an inventory management system redBus also offers their own inventory management system called BOGDS. redBus
I used to work in the engineering team of redBus and don’t know the exact process of how redBus contracts a bus operator, but I will try and explain it.
Currently redBus has become so synonymous with online bus ticketing that bus operators would generally like to listed on redBus for maximum bus occupancy, unless the operator runs services in very remote areas.
Bus operators will have some kind of inventory system running at their end, popular ones are Bitla or Mantis. If they don’t have an inventory management system redBus also offers their own inventory management system called BOGDS. redBus then will sign some kind of agreement with the operator stating how much commission it will get etc.(not completely sure about the legal procedure)
Now once the inventory system is in place, redBus will pull data from the system, and transform it and then cache it. This is a very high level way of saying how it works but basically the data is correctly put in with respect to what is the route , how many seats are remaining , what is the layout of the seats in the bus etc.
Every time a seat gets booked redBus will call the bus operators inventory system and get the PNR and reduce the no of seats available.
There is a lot more work that goes in to this whole process but thats the gist of it.
Hopefully I have been able to answer the question.
Were you tired of the same old bus booking platforms with exorbitant prices and limited options? As a solo female traveler, I constantly craved a service prioritizing safety, affordability, and convenience. Enter Zingbus, a breath of fresh air in the Indian bus travel scene. Let me tell you why I chose Zingbus over RedBus as my new go-to booking website:
Zingbus has affordable rates for lone travelers and excellent bargains on lengthy journeys. Frequent sales and discounts make inexpensive travel even more appealing, making it the best option for anyone on a t
Were you tired of the same old bus booking platforms with exorbitant prices and limited options? As a solo female traveler, I constantly craved a service prioritizing safety, affordability, and convenience. Enter Zingbus, a breath of fresh air in the Indian bus travel scene. Let me tell you why I chose Zingbus over RedBus as my new go-to booking website:
Zingbus has affordable rates for lone travelers and excellent bargains on lengthy journeys. Frequent sales and discounts make inexpensive travel even more appealing, making it the best option for anyone on a tight budget.
Women's safety is a top priority for Zingbus, which guarantees a safe and comfortable ride by removing the need for uncomfortable seatmates and letting passengers unwind and enjoy the ride.
With Zingbus's live tracking feature, you can track their exact location in real-time, communicate it to those you care about, and precisely anticipate arrival times. This feature helps users avoid missing connections and guarantees a seamless travel experience.
Zingbus provides flexibility and peace of mind by offering a free cancellation policy that makes it simple for customers to change or cancel their reservations. This removes the hassle of rushing to get tickets back or exchange them for a refund.
With plenty of legroom, reclining seats, and Wi-Fi available on some routes, Zingbus offers clean, contemporary buses ideal for quick naps and city exploration.
Beyond the Features:
Zingbus is more than features, though. This community of travelers values convenience, safety, and cost. Booking is a snap because of their user-friendly website and app; their customer care is always courteous and quick to respond.
Therefore, instead of using the congested giants, try Zingbus if you're seeking a dependable, reasonably priced, women-focused bus ticketing site. You may find your new favorite mode of transportation!
Recall that this is my viewpoint. It's always better to compare features and platforms to choose which fits your demands and price range best.
You can try www.busandticket.com
The website is easy to use and user friendly.
The first page itself gives you an easy option to enter details to book bus tickets. you just have to enter the place of departure, the destination, and the date. you can also select the option for a round a bout trip.
In addition the company provides various options discounts and offers like “FIRSTBOOK”, “RAINBOW” and “BNTSPECIAL”.
The company ensures you safety and security as well as all precautions related to covid-19 are also adopted.
You can also bus book tickets for individuals or you can book a bus for a whole g
You can try www.busandticket.com
The website is easy to use and user friendly.
The first page itself gives you an easy option to enter details to book bus tickets. you just have to enter the place of departure, the destination, and the date. you can also select the option for a round a bout trip.
In addition the company provides various options discounts and offers like “FIRSTBOOK”, “RAINBOW” and “BNTSPECIAL”.
The company ensures you safety and security as well as all precautions related to covid-19 are also adopted.
You can also bus book tickets for individuals or you can book a bus for a whole group as well.
HAPPY BUS TICKETING!!
Worst,worst
Please don't go for it blindly
I booked from tirupati to guntur, 5 hours delay
No option for cancellation or customer support.
Loss of 2700rs
Redbus develops a software called BOSS ('Bus Operators Software System') that a majority of travel agents and operators alike use.
The way this works is that, Bus operators who use this software use it to manage the seats on their buses in their fleet. They pay a premium annually for the software. All data is stored on AWS on a customized SQL DB (when I spoke to Phaneendra Sama, he said that they were experimenting with BigQuery).
Travel agents either have access to an agent online portal or the software itself. I'm not really sure how the commission is divided , but from what my interactio
Redbus develops a software called BOSS ('Bus Operators Software System') that a majority of travel agents and operators alike use.
The way this works is that, Bus operators who use this software use it to manage the seats on their buses in their fleet. They pay a premium annually for the software. All data is stored on AWS on a customized SQL DB (when I spoke to Phaneendra Sama, he said that they were experimenting with BigQuery).
Travel agents either have access to an agent online portal or the software itself. I'm not really sure how the commission is divided , but from what my interaction with the founder, that's what I've learned.
Disclaimer : This information may/may not be correct. It is what I've understood about how RedBus works.
I booked a ticket through red bus app by mistake i booked of 10 am and i was booking 10pm.and i cancelled the ticket under five minutes. And i received 50% refund amount. I raised a complaint but they didn't refund my amount. If I booked this ticket directly through bus operators app than they charged 0 rs cancellation charges. I advice you please Don't use red bus app. Please use other app they don't charges to you cancellation fee like red bus. They are doing robbery. After all very bad experience of customer service . They didn't resolve my problem. I never ever use red bus .RedBus.in RedBu
I booked a ticket through red bus app by mistake i booked of 10 am and i was booking 10pm.and i cancelled the ticket under five minutes. And i received 50% refund amount. I raised a complaint but they didn't refund my amount. If I booked this ticket directly through bus operators app than they charged 0 rs cancellation charges. I advice you please Don't use red bus app. Please use other app they don't charges to you cancellation fee like red bus. They are doing robbery. After all very bad experience of customer service . They didn't resolve my problem. I never ever use red bus .RedBus.in RedBus Bus Ticketing
I cannot say for sure if any or all of the below are exercised by the said players.
But these are some possible revenue streams:
1) Charge the bus operator a fixed fee for offering the ticketing and accounting software as a service
2) Charge the bus operator a small commission on each booking or at least on some dog inventory (hard-to-sell seats)
3) Charge some bus operators a small fee for showing their inventory at the top when a user searches for a route
4) Charge a small convenience fee from the traveler on every booking
5) Bulk buying: aggregator, due to their advantage in knowing consume
I cannot say for sure if any or all of the below are exercised by the said players.
But these are some possible revenue streams:
1) Charge the bus operator a fixed fee for offering the ticketing and accounting software as a service
2) Charge the bus operator a small commission on each booking or at least on some dog inventory (hard-to-sell seats)
3) Charge some bus operators a small fee for showing their inventory at the top when a user searches for a route
4) Charge a small convenience fee from the traveler on every booking
5) Bulk buying: aggregator, due to their advantage in knowing consumer demand, may buy seats in bulk at a discount and then sell at a markup
6) Suggestive selling: cross sell related stuff like hotel bookings, mobile recharges, etc to travelers
7) Advertising and Email marketing: Advertise or cross-sell unrelated stuff like shopping vouchers, restaurant coupons, mobile apps, etc
8) Interest income: By collecting the money from users immediately on the day of travel but paying the bus operators after several weeks
Hotels give last minute discount on the unsold rooms in order to improve their occupancy and average room rate. Its like airlines giving discounts on unsold tickets at the last moment. Its better to have occupancy (provided all costs are recovered or marginal profits are made) rather than having seats/rooms empty. Redbus ties up with hotels to provide discounts on such unsold rooms in the last minute.
Below are the major reasons,
# redbus holds majority share in online ticketing
# redbus presence across all states of India, now present in South America, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and still expanding..
# pioneer in online ticketing
# redbus have wide range of support on all departments
# prompt payments
# their field executives relationship with bus operators is very strong
# standard commission
Most predominantly **Their Customer Base**
The Bus sector is very disorganised.
Red Bus is the only start up that put some kind of sensibility in this area.
Ola is running a successful business on road with a powerful programme behind it.
OLa also has deep pockets to invest for a longer period of time. The main flaw in the bus system was recovery on booked tickets from Bus operators.
If Ola is up to taking this challenge than the Bus area may become as organised as Ola and will benefit millions of Bus passengers in India.
I guess:
- First port of all memorability for consumers!! (BIG ONE)
- Deeply entrenched processes that will take others a longer time to learn
- The network effect of Tencent who now owns them (big traffic = big traction)
- Trade (Bus Operators in this case) don't like too much complications in their lives. They are selling a commodity and don't need thousands of 'mini agents' in their lives. They will soon refuse to partner with other sites - UNLESS they get bribed (by cash offers) to include them. If this happens, these new sites will go bankrupt.
- Motivation at all levels! I mean which CTO
I guess:
- First port of all memorability for consumers!! (BIG ONE)
- Deeply entrenched processes that will take others a longer time to learn
- The network effect of Tencent who now owns them (big traffic = big traction)
- Trade (Bus Operators in this case) don't like too much complications in their lives. They are selling a commodity and don't need thousands of 'mini agents' in their lives. They will soon refuse to partner with other sites - UNLESS they get bribed (by cash offers) to include them. If this happens, these new sites will go bankrupt.
- Motivation at all levels! I mean which CTO worth his salt would want to join the 114th Bus Booking website in India? If talent = poor, then services and delivery will be 200x poorer.
Some things are meant to be only 1-2..
Among the available services, Red Bus is better. But they do not have full hold on the service providers and Drivers.( Something like OLA/ UBER/ OYO)
But the systems and procedures are better in Redbus than the above said organisations. They do not cheat, but they should improve their services.
They charge a x% as a commission to sell the tickets. x is mostly a single digit.
There are two ways.
- When customer directly book a ticket on A’s site, A takes the entire X% as commission.
- When a customer books on B’s site (where actual inventories are with A), 80% of X goes to B and 20% of X goes to A.
This question can be answered in numerous ways as unlike to popular perception Travelyaari and redbus are not entirely similar animals. While Redbus is a market leader when it comes to B2C or demand side where ticket gets sold to end commuters, Travelyaari is a market leader on supply side of bus inventory connecting bus operators for their online and offline needs. It indeed has its own B2C pc website, android app, and mobile website to sell these inventories to end commuters directly but it also being a leader on supply helps other B2C online web and app platforms similar to redbus sell bus
This question can be answered in numerous ways as unlike to popular perception Travelyaari and redbus are not entirely similar animals. While Redbus is a market leader when it comes to B2C or demand side where ticket gets sold to end commuters, Travelyaari is a market leader on supply side of bus inventory connecting bus operators for their online and offline needs. It indeed has its own B2C pc website, android app, and mobile website to sell these inventories to end commuters directly but it also being a leader on supply helps other B2C online web and app platforms similar to redbus sell bus tickets at pan india level.
you are absolutely right. people needs to visit and book a ticket directly on the airline but there is one issue, when searching for cheap affordable flights you cannot search on lots of airline websites, so search on these sites and book on airline site. on these sites you will clearly see which flight and airline fullfill your needs. so just go to that airline and book your ticket.
To change the passenger name on an APSRTC bus ticket booked through redBus.l, you typically need to contact redBus customer support. They should be able to assist you with the necessary changes or provide guidance on the process. Make sure to have your booking details handy when you reach out to them.
They made life of people travelling easier.. They started mobile app it helped user to take electronic ticket in form of msg in their cell phones.. by doing this it became convenient for users to book and do paper less travelling...
Its easy to book tickets in redbus , you need a Netbanking User name /password or Credit/ Debit card details.
I hope that your question is about Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation.
Their official website for ticket booking is
https://ksrtc.in/oprs-web/guest/home.do?h=1
Some times, KSRTC offers discounts when both Onward and Return journey tickets are booked together.
Redbus, simply online ticketing agency for bus operators with multiple presence in India. They connect customers with bus operaters. Simply making to meet demand with supply.