Speaking to the media, Arun Athiappan, Founder & CEO, Ticketgoose.com, said, "There is an immense opportunity in the online bus booking space as increasing air fares, better roads and higher quality of buses (particularly global brands like Volvo and Mercedes Benz) have led to spurt in the growth of bus travel across India which is likely to grow threefold in the next 3 years. Bus travel also interestingly is no longer the option of the affordable. Growing internet penetration, higher sales of smart phones & lower cost of internet access on the other hand means there are more consumers willing to book online. This is an inflection point for the space and that is why we are investing and growing aggressively."
According to Vasu Ramasamy, Co-founder & COO, Ticketgoose.com, "Within India, South India has 2-3 of the most profitable and busy bus corridors within the top 5 in India and interestingly Hyderabad figures in these. The awareness and penetration of online bus booking is also higher in the south and that is why you would see all the leading players being founded here, growing here and routes being well covered."
Added Arun Athiappan, “The growth of online bus booking travel is beneficial on multiple fronts to the Indian consumer. Consumers now have a choice of selecting from multiple buses at one place. They can choose based on bus type, boarding points, price, seat location, seat type etc.. All this can now be done from the comfort of one’s home or office".
Datapoints on Hyderabad market:
Hyderabad bus market has been growing at 30% since 2010 and currently has 800 buses of various types and value points inbound and outbound respectively. In 2010 this number was 450 each way. The more techie population and growth of IT and knowledge services in the city will lead to higher growth of online booking out of the city as well. Here are the other key trends observed:
· Hyderabad to Bangalore, Vijayawada, Vizag, Rajmundry, Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur are the popular bus routes in that order besides high demand for buses to religious places like Tirupathi and Shirdi year around
· Peak seasons for bus-ticket booking from Hyderabad are during Ramadan, Diwali, Christmas, New Year, Durga Puja and summer holidays
· There has been a gradual shift of preference towards more luxury type and a/c buses, with current mix being 30% super luxury buses (Volvo, Mercedes etc.), 30% a/c or sleeper buses and the rest being non a/c)
· 15% of bookings from Hyderabad are currently done online; 40% through agents and 45% through operators
· Of the passengers who book online, around 20% book a week ahead (7 days in advance), 20% a day before the date of journey and 30% on the day of journey. The rest split across multiple days.
About Ticketgoose.com: TicketGoose is promoted by Ticketgoose.com India Pvt. Ltd. and was launched in August 2007 is a ticketing web portal to provide online services to everyone travelling by bus. TicketGoose.com provides information like price, availability and booking facility for buses to over xxx destinations in South India and currently has 500+ bus operators as partners. Ticketgoose.com's biggest advantage is its network of 3000+ channel partners who serve the customers without internet access. It is also a major supplier of inventory to other aggregation sites like MakeMyTrip, ixigo etc. Ticketgoose.com has been the torchbearer for organizing the hitherto unorganized bus industry in the country, by IT enabling operators with its unique and cost effective solutions. The Team at Ticketgoose.com, headed by Arun Athiappan, Co-Founder and CEO, comprises of highly qualified and dedicated technical professionals who are focused on ensuring hassle-free, cost effective and happy travel for all consumers who use its service.
