redBus, a bus aggregator platform, reported a year-on-year (YoY) revenue increase of 25.6 percent, reaching $27.1 million in Q2 FY25, up from $21.8 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The platform also experienced over 20 per cent growth in its customer acquisition rate during the quarter, with much of this growth coming from tier-3 cities, according to Prakash Sangam, CEO of redBus.

“The demand from the tier-3 segment has grown at twice the rate of our overall growth,” said Sangam. He added, “This growth has been driven by improved connectivity between tier-3 towns and metros, as well as tier-1 and tier-2 cities. These regions offer significant room for expansion, and to capitalize on this potential, we are focusing heavily on this segment, particularly in the South.”

The company reported gross global bookings of bus tickets totalling $263,459,000. This increase in gross bookings was driven by a 21.4 percent y-o-y rise in the number of bus tickets sold, primarily fuelled by travel demand in during the quarter.

Less activity

Explaining the sequential performance of the business, “The second quarter typically sees less activity compared to Q1 and Q3. However, due to the elections and a lack of auspicious dates in May and June, periods that usually drive travel, many trips were deferred. Conversely, July experienced an unexpected concentration of auspicious dates, resulting in a significant surge in wedding-related travel. These two localised and time-specific factors contributed to a marked improvement in growth during the quarter.”

redBus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MakeMyTrip, first expanded into international markets in 2015 with launches in Singapore and Malaysia. Since then, it has further extended its presence to Peru, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Colombia.

The company expects its international business to grow faster than its domestic operations. By the end of Q2, the contribution of international markets to total revenue had risen to over 12 percent. “This growth has been driven by strong performance in key markets such as Malaysia and Indonesia in both Q1 and Q2,” remarked Sangam. He added that the new additions in these markets have further fueled this expansion.

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