India’s intercity bus network expands as ridership hits 140 million: Report

India’s intercity bus sector carried 140 million passengers in April–September, a 25 per cent increase from 112 million a year earlier, supported by higher inventory and the entry of new operators, according to a new industry report.

The latest BusTrack Report from redBus said the growth generated ticketing value of Rs 13,200 crore across more than 6,000 active private bus operators.

The report, based on data from operators connected to the redBus platform, showed that sleeper and hybrid buses made up 85 per cent of all journeys during the six-month period. AC services accounted for 71 per cent of seats sold.

More than 670,000 unique routes connected over 11,000 towns, with nearly 65 per cent of all routes extending beyond 250 kilometres, indicating an increase in longer, cross-regional journeys, the report said.

“This 25 per cent y-o-y growth has come on the back of existing bus operators adding inventory, new operators starting businesses on traditional routes and digitisation of inventory in long tail and new routes. We also see a clear shift in the preference towards AC buses,” redBus CEO Prakash Sangam said.

“There has been a big jump in the number of private bus operators coming online, which has led to a significant expansion in the network base in both towns connected as well as unique bus routes,” he said.

Pan-India seat occupancy stood at 76 per cent in the period. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recorded the highest fill rates at 84 per cent, while Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh logged 63 per cent, according to the report.

Maharashtra and Goa together accounted for 16 per cent of total seat bookings, followed by Tamil Nadu at 15 per cent, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at 12 per cent, and Karnataka at 11 per cent. Maharashtra also recorded an average seat price of Rs 1,066, higher than the national average, with 67 per cent of travel being intrastate and bus occupancy at 79 per cent.

The report said non-metro regions drove overall growth, generating 61 per cent of total bookings. The top six metros accounted for 33 per cent of bookings, while other state capitals made up the remaining 6 per cent.