Flipkart, an e-commerce company, announced the introduction of bus services on its app starting April 8. Through partnerships with state transport corporations and private aggregators, Flipkart will provide customers access to 10 lakh bus connections covering over 25,000 routes across India. This expands on the existing flight and hotel booking services already offered through Flipkart Travel.
The platform is providing bus bookings without any convenience fee, along with offers through supercoins redemption up to Rs 50, and a 24/7 voice helpline. Flipkart mentioned that its Flights and Hotels services have been steadily expanding since their launch in 2019, as stated by the Walmart-backed company.
“With Flipkart’s strong presence in tier-2 and tier-3 markets, this move has enabled us to provide customers with a convenient and reliable solution for their inter-city travel needs,” said Ajay Veer Yadav, Senior Vice President, Flipkart.
Flipkart faces significant competition from redBus, which boasts a customer base of approximately 20 million users. The rise in travel demand has also led to growth in bus travel across India.
A recent report on bus travel suggests that the bus industry expects a 200 percent increase in seat bookings due to the development of more expressways in India. For instance, the Nagpur-Mumbai stretch of the Samruddhi Expressway significantly reduced travel time by almost three hours, resulting in a 215 percent growth in seat bookings since 2022. Additionally, there was a 16 percent decrease in ticket prices along this route.
The report indicates that ongoing infrastructure development will continue to decrease travel time, boost seat bookings, and reduce travel costs in the future.