YatraGenie extends bus ticketing to North India to rival redBus

YatraGenie now partners with over 2,000 bus operators across the country

Online hotel, bus and cab aggregator YatraGenie is expanding its bus ticketing service as it looks to take on rival goibibo Group-owned redBus. After establishing itself in the South Indian market, where there is high penetration of intercity bus travel, the company is looking to take its service up north.

YatraGenie has launched its online bus ticketing service in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bhubaneshwar, and now partners with over 2,000 bus operators across the country. Going forward, it plans to have a presence in 200 Indian cities by mid-2016, taking its business pan India.

"We are now looking at the next phase of growth. We believe that there is an untapped potential for the strong value proposition that we provide to our operators as well as our consumers. Through this expansion, we hope to replicate the success that we achieved in the south," said Renil Komitla, CEO of YatraGenie, in a statement.

redBus, which controls 70-75 per cent of online bus ticketing market in India, is now looking at growing its services internationally. The company launched its service in Singapore and Malaysia in mid-2015 and is even exploring entry into markets outside Asia. Domestically, redBus has partnered with over 1,500 bus operators and operates across 80,000 routes.

South India sees higher demand for intercity bus travel given its better road infrastructure where YatraGenie has built a presence in 60 cities so far. The company raised its Series A of $2.5 million in September last year which it is using to fuel its growth.

goibiboGroup, which is backed by South Africa's Naspers Group, recently received an additional $250 million (nearly Rs 1,700 crore) in funding. Majority of the funds will be used to grow the company's hotel room booking service, but part of it will also support redBus' expansion nationally and internationally.