"IntrCity SmartBus, a tech-enabled intercity bus platform in India, has raised $30 million in funding to expand its network across smaller cities and towns in the South Asian nation. The all-equity Series D round, led by A91 Partners, values the Noida-based startup at $140 million post-money. Intercity travel is accelerating in India as more people migrate from smaller towns to metropolitan cities for work and education."
"Unlike traditional operators, IntrCity SmartBus runs on an asset-light model by partnering with local bus owners and equipping their vehicles with proprietary hardware for real-time tracking, co-founder and president Kapil Raizada said in an interview. The startup also centralizes ticket booking and route planning through its digital platform, which helps determine service frequency, pickup points, boarding stations, and even seat configurations based on demand."
"To ensure safety and consistency, IntrCity places trained personnel - called "captains" - on board each bus, Raizada told TechCrunch. Most vehicles feature washrooms, and the company has also set up air-conditioned boarding lounges staffed with crew to improve the pre-departure experience. "All our buses are cloud-connected," he noted. "There is a bus operating system, which we have built up in-house, which monitors and manages a lot of parameters, including the CCTV, sound, and temperature levels.""
IntrCity SmartBus secured $30 million in an all-equity Series D led by A91 Partners, valuing the company at $140 million. Growing migration from smaller towns to metros and a 60% expansion of national highways have increased demand for intercity travel. Rail capacity constraints make long-distance road travel a key alternative, while state-run bus services often lack reliability and comfort. IntrCity operates an asset-light model by partnering with local bus owners and fitting proprietary hardware for real-time tracking, while its digital platform centralizes ticketing and route planning to optimize frequency, pickup points, and seat configurations. Trained on-board personnel, washrooms, air-conditioned boarding lounges, and a cloud-connected bus operating system ensure safety and consistency.
Read at TechCrunch
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]