Cityflo, a Mumbai-based on-demand bus aggregator platform, has nabbed close to $750K in a fresh funding round, led by IDG Ventures. The start-up will use the newly infused money to aggressively map bus routes in Mumbai and then expand to other cities.
Founded in August 2015 by a group of six founders, Cityflo provides point to point bus service for your daily commute to office or any other place for that matter.
The whole booking experience is pretty much a breeze. You just have to pick your route from the list and confirm your ride by paying from the wallet. The company will then send you a message containing the bus details. There is an Android application which you can use to book bus, with the iOS app in the pipeline.
Currently, the company is covering 10 routes within Mumbai only with over 60 company-run buses plying on these routes. Cityflo is already amassing a decent 2,200 rides per day.
Jerin Venad, CEO at CityFlo, said,
Since our inception, we have quickly on-boarded multiple bus operators and office-goers from major business hubs in Mumbai. On the limited routes that we run, 77% of customers are repeat users.
Ankit Agrawal, CTO at CityFlo, said,
We are using technology to analyse real time traffic data and identify potential routes along all major corridors of the city. The critical part is to keep the app simple for the customers.
According to the industry estimates, buses are a prime mode of travel in India, with about 1.5 lakh buses transporting some 70 million people every day. The bus aggregation market in India is in early stage with no many players looking eager to get into this highly scattered segment.
There still are, a few startups offering similar services, which includes Rbus, Shuttl, Zipgo, etc. Cityflo and Rbus are providing service for long-distance travel, especially for office goers while Shuttl provides service for short distance travel in restricted areas.
