Bangalore electric bus startup, FreshBus, has secured Rs 26 crore in seed funding from ixigo for the launch of premium inter-city electric bus services across India.
The smart bus platform will run on a full-stack business model to deliver a range of services including noise-free air-conditioned cabins, comfortable seating, uniformed crew, security CCTVs, personal charging docks, Wi-Fi, real-time tracking, alcohol checks, and more.
FreshBus will commence its services simultaneously from Hyderabad and Bangalore with the launch of 24 electric buses and is expected to announce its first operational routes in March 2023.
The EV bus startup plans to scale up its operations to over 1000 buses pan-India in the next 2-3 years.
The company claims that, unlike existing inter-city bus aggregators, FreshBus will be a technology-enabled smart bus operator that will build and own the customer experience for travelers end-to-end across finding, tracking and booking their electric intercity buses via the FreshBus mobile app and website.
FreshBus was founded by Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, who earlier built Abhibus, acquired by ixigo in August 2021 in a cash and stock business transfer agreement. Sudhakar has over 15 years of experience in the bus domain and in managing technology-led businesses.
Speaking on the new round of funding, Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, Founder & CEO, FreshBus said, “FreshBus was born out of a desire to address the pain areas of inter-city bus travellers in India, such as lack of punctuality, unscheduled stops, poor customer service, unprofessional staff, low bar for cleanliness, inconvenient boarding points, unhygienic pit-stops for women, etc. FreshBus aims to address these issues by emphasizing quality and customer experience to make bus travel a hassle-free experience for all.”
He added, “We will offer a more environment-friendly and affordable alternative to existing inter-city public transport which is currently dominated by fossil-fuel buses. A single FreshBus will save over 90,000 litres of diesel and reduce close to 200 tonnes of CO2 emissions in a span of one year. That is equivalent to the effect of almost 10,000 trees on the environment!”
Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar from ixigo said, “Nearly 1,00,000 inter-city buses are operating in the country, the majority of which are diesel based and are a major source of urban air pollution. We are proud to be backing Sudhakar once more with a joint vision of a future where all inter-city buses in India will run on clean fuel. FreshBus buses will be able to cover up to 375 Km on a single charge with zero emissions, enabling greener, affordable & safer rides.”