SOLVING THE MASS MOBILITY PROBLEM Bus AGGREGATORS

PUBLIC TRANSPORT HAS PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD. BUSES, TAXIS, METROS, TRAINS, ETC. HAVE MADE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE FROM ONE LOCATION TO THE OTHER. INDIA, BEING ONE OF THE MOST POPULATED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD RELIES HEAVILY ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT. BUSES ARE THE POPULAR MODE OF TRANSPORT FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING IN INDIA YET THE SECTOR REMAINS BROKEN.

- Saptak Bardhan

Approximately 60 per cent of Indians rely on buses. However, there is a major gap in the space despite the existence of public and private operators. Irregularity, no fixed time of arrival and departure and bad bus conditions are just a few of the many problems that the commuters face on daily basis. However, the situation has changed after the emergence of bus aggregators in the space. Aggregators like Shuttl, IntrCity, zingbus, etc. have changed the perception of people regarding buses being an unreliable mode of transport. The advent of Flixbus in Europe saw the bus aggregator space go in an upwards trajectory in Europe. The last decade has seen the bus aggregators market in Europe grow massively. Witnessing this, India has started capitalizing on the opportunity that lies ahead. Road transportation, especially travelling by buses has been a huge problem for Indians. Major irregularity in the frequency of buses has resulted in a major gap in the bus travel sector. The bus aggregators have come and solved this problem of irregularity. The consumer is well aware of the timings of the bus and the stops at which the bus will stop. The aggregator app provides real-time updates of the bus’ location to the commuters which addressed one of the gaps which were prevalent earlier.