HYDERABAD : Online bus ticketing portal Abhibus.com is planning to raise $25 to $30 million (around RS 160 to RS 200 crore) to fund its expansion plans.
According to the firm, which boasts bus ticket bookings of around 30,000 a day and a turnover of about RS 500 crore, it is aiming to double its seat bookings and turnover by the end of financial year 2017-18. It also wants to strengthen its technology infrastructure and, subsequently, reach out to more customers to achieve its targets.
“We are looking for funding between $25 to $30 million to fund our future plans. Already, we are in talks with some large fund houses who are eager to invest, owing to the potential online bus ticketing sector has. We will use the funds acquired for technology upgradation and brand building,” pointed out Biju Mathews, chief operating officer of Abhibus.
The online ticket booking portal, which also has its own dedicated technology platform to enable bus operators in the digital world, has aggressive plans for the future.
“We have first worked on the business-to-business (B2B) level to equip bus operators with technology and, later, succeeded in the B2C space as a direct provider of bus tickets online. This has given us a great advantage in the online bus ticket booking eco-system.
“For FY 16-17 our turnover is expected to be about RS 500 crore. We are aiming to double it to RS 1000 crore by the end of FY 17-18. We will also increase our bookings to 60,000 by the end of the next financial year from the present 30,000 per day,” Mathews added.
Pegging total market size of online bus ticket bookings at RS 4,000 crore currently, Mathews stressed that with online ticket bookings accounting for just 15 percent of total bus tickets sold now, there is huge scope for growth in the segment.