Tag: redBus

News

Innovation and Inspiration: Hyderabad’s Student Entrepreneurship Summit

Jun 28, 2024 by Mansi Praharaj 0 Comments #25th anniversary of TiE Hyderabad, #a Maker Faire, #Business Leaders, #competition tracks, #Education, #entrepreneurship, #global competition, #global non-profit organization, #IIIT Hyderabad, #industry tours, #keynotes from renowned entrepreneurs, #masterclasses, #mentoring, #Murali Bukkapatnam, #networking, #next generation of entrepreneurs., #non-profit organization, #Phanindra Sama, #redBus, #sign language, #Silicon Valley., #Sri Charan Lakkaraju, #startup showcases, #StudentTribe, #The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), #The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) from June 19 to 21st., #TiE Global Board of Trustees, #TiE Hyderabad, #TiE’s TYE Global Conference 2024:, #TYE Global Conference 2024., #V Sign, #young entrepreneurs, #Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Global Conference 2024, #youth entrepreneurship

Hyderabad, June 28th, 2024…..The biggest student entrepreneurial conference of its kind in India, TiE’s TYE Global Conference 2024: Empowering Young Entrepreneurs, held at IIIT-Hyderabad, concluded in Hyderabad. The three-day Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Global Conference 2024 was hosted by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) from June 19 to 21st. Over 300 Students Across India Participated in the TYE Global Conference 2024.

Disclosing this in a press note issued in the city today, TiE Hyderabad said, the conference was especially notable as it coincided with the 25th anniversary of TiE Hyderabad. The conference also marked the first-ever dual semi-finals held in both Hyderabad and Silicon Valley, underscoring TYE’s global commitment to youth entrepreneurship.

The Conference was aimed to inspire and instill the spirit of entrepreneurship among students in an era where entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly prominent. With over 582 million entrepreneurs globally and rapid growth expected in the coming years, this initiative is more relevant than ever.

The conference provided students from classes 9 to 12 with unparalleled opportunities to network with accomplished business leaders and aspiring young entrepreneurs from across India.

The event featured a rich array of activities, including keynotes from renowned entrepreneurs, masterclasses, competition tracks, a Maker Faire, startup showcases, industry tours, and more. Over 25 teams from around the world competed in the global competition, who were winners earlier in the competitions held in their respective regions, demonstrating their innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit

Accomplished business leaders from across the globe, such as Phanindra Sama, Founder of redBus, Murali Bukkapatnam, Global Vice Chairman of TiE Global Board of Trustees, Sri Charan Lakkaraju, Founder/CEO of StudentTribe, attended the event to provide insightful keynotes relating to entrepreneurship.

A notable achievement was by a team from India called V Sign, which developed gloves that translate sign language into speech and won the runner-up position in the competition.

About TiE

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking, and education. TiE Hyderabad, a chapter of TiE, has been instrumental in nurturing entrepreneurial talent and fostering innovation in the region for the past 25 years.

TiE Hyderabad’s dedication to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship has set a new standard for student conferences, providing invaluable experiences and inspiration for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Business

redBus announces special festive offer for travelers ahead of Diwali

Oct 26, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #redBus

National: redBus, the world’s largest online bus ticketing platform, is bringing the festive cheer back for travelers across the country with special discounts and cashback offers on seat reservations made during 26th, 27th and 28th October-21.

Ahead of Diwali, redBus will offer first-time users an instant discount of 15% or up-to Rs 150 off and a 10% cashback in the redBus wallet of up-to Rs. 100 as soon as they book a bus ticket on the redBus app by using offer code FIRST, during the aforesaid period. This offer is applicable to new users across India.

There is exciting news for existing users too! Loyal customers can enjoy an instant discount of 10%* on seat reservations up-to Rs. 100 off (*T&C Apply) with offer code NONATAK.

The festive discounts being offered between the 26th and 28th of October has been launched to cater specifically to the homecoming travellers during the festive period. With this offer, redBus seeks to encourage first-time users to skip the cumbersome offline seat booking approaches and select the bus and seat of their choice by booking their tickets on redBus which hosts the largest inventory of seats. For existing users, the discount is an added bonus.

About redBus

redBus was founded in 2006 in India and today is the world’s largest online bus ticketing platform. After having solved complex problems of bus customers in India, redBus also launched operations in Singapore and Malaysia in 2015 and acquired a majority stake in Peru based bus ticketing platform Busportal (now redBus.Pe) in the subsequent year. With this acquisition, redBus successfully launched operations in Latin America markets, Peru & shortly thereafter, Colombia.

redBus has globally sold more than 180 million bus tickets till date and has a customer base of around a20 million users. redBus is now part of the MakeMyTrip group (Nasdaq, MMYT) which is the largest travel aggregator in India with offerings across categories such as Flights, Hotels, Holiday Packages, etc.

The business owns three products – redBus™, redBus Plus™ and redBus Partner™, which come together to serve and address the fragmented bus industry across geographies.

• redBus™ is the popular consumer-facing travel brand enabling customers to buy bus tickets online. Consumers, depending on where they live, can access redBus on the web (redbus.in, redbus.my, redbus.sg, redbus.id, redbus.pe and redbus.co). They can also download the high rated redBus mobile app from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. We enable a customer to search for bus services on a route of his/her choice, reserve a seat and make a payment to confirm the booking, thus bringing the seller and buyer on a single platform to facilitate easy bus booking.

• redProWin™ is a cloud-based solution built for bus operators. Approximately 3500+ bus operators in India, SEA and Latin America use this platform for their day to day operations. The revolutionary inventory management software ensures seat realization and resource utilization, thus improving revenue and profitability for bus operators. Over the years, through the use of engineering & data analytics, redBus has offered features such as LIVE bus tracking, dynamic pricing, customer relationship management, etc., which have helped bus operators improve operational efficiency as well as service quality.

• redBus Partner™ is a GDS for bus inventory distribution and is used by more than 20,000 retail agents and 200+ OTAs to sell bus tickets to their customers.

Business World

Children seek a change; Wish to travel to make up for a year of gloom and confinement

Feb 24, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #at Ashoka University, #Children, #Consultant, #Dr Arvinder Singh, #Psychotherapist Director, #redBus, #the world’s largest online bus ticketing platform

Bengaluru, February 24, 2021: Children around the world have been walled in ever since the pandemic took grip of cities and towns. From within the safety of their homes, they lived a narrowed down existence. All the while they yearned for the life outside and for reaching out to the world. The impact of the long months of confinement would probably be studied over the years on how it impacted children and their attitudes to life and its vagaries. But as the world looks to a brighter tomorrow with the arrival of viable vaccines, it is interesting to see how the children saw their dreams for the year ahead.

While enough and more has been said and debated about the effects of the pandemic on business and the economy, the psychological effect brought about by this unforeseen contagion on people, especially children, has rarely been deliberated upon. Excursion and travel have long shown to be essential for overall development of a child and the restriction on movement for months on end, can prove traumatic to the budding minds.

redBus, the world’s largest online bus ticketing platform and part of the MakeMyTrip group set out to understand the travel aspirations of children, in the age group of 6 to 13 years, by asking them to illustrate their dream destination. For this, redBus reached out to children in every geography that it has its footprint in, namely India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Peru and Colombia.

The organization received hundreds of illustrations from children across these countries. Beaches, backwaters, hometown, monuments, hill stations, metro cities and national parks among others, took space in the minds of youngsters, eagerly waiting to travel in 2021. The urge to travel and rejuvenate could not have been expressed with greater enthusiasm and detail by the children and this is clearly a wake-up call for parents and guardians to take up this activity with earnestness. While it is important for children to travel from time to time, it is best undertaken within the ambit of the guidelines on safety, especially with the virus still at large.
12 year old Anantisha Ghosh from Konnagar, West Bengal said “My father showed me a video of the Taj Mahal one day, on YouTube. Ever since, I’ve always wanted to spend a full day there and take pictures!”

7 year old Gauri Manoj from Bangalore said “2020 was normal for me, but I couldn’t go to school or the park. In 2021, all I want is to have fun with my friends, build sandcastles on the beach and play in the water!”

13 year old Lintang Ayu Nasika from Pondok Ranji, Indonesia said “I want to visit Semeru Mountain because it is one of the highest mountains in Java Island and symbolizes the beauty of Java,”

6 year old Muhammad Adam from Sungai Petani, Malaysia said “I want to go to Cameron Highland at Pahang state, because I want to visit the strawberry farm there. Then, I want to go to Gua Kelam in Perlis state and explore the caves there. Then, I want to visit Pulau Pinang because I want to eat ‘Mee Mamak’ at Padang Kota. Lastly I want to go sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur.”

10 year old Diego Maryanovich from Huaraz, Peru said “Besides Machu Picchu, I also want to visit the beaches of Mancora and swim in those crystal clear waters. I love the seascape.”

Sharing her views on the psychological impact of the pandemic among children, Dr Arvinder Singh, Consultant, Psychotherapist Director, at Ashoka University, said, “In any situation that threatens safety and security, children need to feel safe both physically and psychologically. This feeling of safety primarily comes from the messages from their parents and caregivers. Ironically, parental angst and social isolation during the pandemic have both been the most important sources of mental health concerns of children. Therefore, it is important that any intervention planned for children must include their parents. ”

Business World

Bus travel on path to normalcy: Over 3 lakh passengers travelled through redBus for the 2nd October long weekend

Oct 16, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Andhra Pradesh, #Gujarat, #Karnataka, #Maharashtra, #post-COVID, #Prakash Sangam, #redBus, #Tamil Nadu

RedBus, India’s largest online bus ticketing platform, recorded over 3 lakh seat reservations across the country over the 2nd October long weekend, in the latest sign of the industry returning to normalcy. States such as Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are currently showing high demand for bus travel, surpassing pre-lockdown levels, partly due to limited availability of trains on key routes, making buses the most preferred means of travel.

Over the long weekend, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal recorded maximum demand for travel in the country, while the top destinations preferred by the passengers were Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The top 5 routes in the country for which redBus is witnessing significant bookings at present are, Bengaluru – Hyderabad, Delhi – Chandigarh, Hyderabad – Vijayawada, Asansol – Kolkata and Gorakhpur-Delhi.

Safety of passengers and the bus crew continues to be the top priority for redBus and the platform had earlier launched its Safety+ program, certification for its partner bus operators who meet the highest standards of excellence in safety and sanitization. Safety+ certified operators follow strict safety protocols to address the concerns around safety due to COVID-19.

The redBus ticketing platform indicates bus operators with this self-certification, with a Safety+ tag next to the bus listing, enabling passengers to opt for such operators or buses.

While Safety+ ensures that the partner bus operators enforce a slew of strict safety measures to keep the passengers safe, redBus has also listed out a set of passenger guidelines encouraging them to travel responsibly for a safe journey.

A behavioural shift that has been evident post-COVID is the preference for online bus booking going up. This has gained traction lately due to the safety and convenience aspects associated with it, compared to offline modes of ticket purchase. redBus has seen a rise in first-time customers, with the percentage of the transactions undertaken by new customers nearly doubling from 11% (Pre-COVID) to 21% (Post-COVID).

Another interesting trend being witnessed is the willingness among people in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns to travel, resulting in them contributing around 67% of the current bookings, as they look to return back to their workplaces (this was 56% earlier in the pre-COVID period).

Some of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities with high demand for bus travel at present are Jaipur, Gorakhpur, Indore, Visakhapatnam, Kalaburagi, Rajkot, Malda and Guwahati.

Speaking on the upbeat near-term outlook for the industry, Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus, said, “The current phase is an important inflection point with a steady rise in demand for bus travel across the country, brought about by the gradual resumption of activities across all spheres, making travel a necessity. We expect this trend to continue with an increase in economic activity, further relaxation in locked down activities, the upcoming festive season and also when colleges/universities reopen. On many routes, we have also seen a substitution of demand moving from Trains to Buses.”

Business World

redBus kicks-off new campaign encouraging people to carry on with their #journeyfordreams

Aug 4, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #‘Safety+’, ##journeyfordreams, #and Head of Marketing, #Brand, #Dileep Ashoka, #EVP, #McCann Worldgroup, #Pallavi Chopra, #redBus, #South, #Vice President

Bengaluru, August 4, 2020: redBus announces the launch of a digital-led campaign, #journeyfordreams that inspires people to persevere in their endeavours, by undertaking their journeys with fortitude, while redBus ensures the safety of their travel. The campaign is aimed at restoring optimism for bus travel as the nation traverses its path to normalcy.

The nationwide lockdown has not only brought lives but also dreams and aspirations for the future to a grinding halt. As a brand that’s all about enabling journeys and connections, redBus seeks to reassure bus travellers that they can still move forward towards fulfilling their dreams during these tough times, as redBus strives to ensure their safety during the journey with its Safety+ programme.

redBus had launched ‘Safety+’, which is a unique certification for bus operators who follow all the necessary safety and sanitization protocols. All operators and buses with a Safety+ tag next to their listing on the redBus app or desktop platform, have implemented strict measures outlined by redBus, to ensure the safety of the passengers.

As part of the campaign, the company has launched an ad film that relies on the emotions associated with the safety of near and dear ones, especially while undertaking inter-city bus travel during these times, in order to highlight the proposition. The ad-film is set to be promoted extensively on digital and social media, including, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, apart from e-mailers and other push notifications.

Unlike the earlier campaigns of the brand that largely utilized humour as a means to attract and drive the message, such as the ones with MS Dhoni, this campaign relies on emotions to connect at a deeper level.  

About the ad-film:

Set inside the house of a small family, involving two middle-aged parents and their young daughter who is about to begin her career, the film evokes a sense of nostalgia and affection with a heart-warming portrayal of a father’s apprehension for his daughter’s safety and vice versa. The story hinges on the poignant, yet ubiquitous scenario of parents or children having to travel to a different city on account of work and the emotional farewell associated with it, which in the given COVID scenario, is all the more affecting. The mood soon transforms to cheer with a narrative on the ‘safety’ of travel, brought about by redBus with various measures and checks in place, thus allowing people to bid farewell to their dear ones with a smile and a sense of fearlessness. 

Viewers witness a young woman who has decided to step out in order to pursue her career but is faced with the dilemma of informing her father of her decision to travel, given the present circumstance, resulting in a commotion with her mother. A match cut then takes them back in time when the father was apprehensive about informing his young child about his work-related travel to a different city and avoids confronting her by packing his bags and leaving while she is asleep. It clearly highlights the common emotions, irrespective of the roles assumed in the journey of life and the message that life moves on, despite occasional hurdles. Getting back to the present, the daughter is able to convince her anxious father to permit her to travel, by showcasing the safety aspects introduced in buses by redBus, much to his satisfaction.    

The role of the father, mother and daughter has been played by popular television artists, Nitesh Pandey, Tanuka Laghate and Prachi Bansal respectively. The film has two edits, a 62 second and a 30-second version and will be seen in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali versions.  

redBus kicks-off new campaign encouraging people to carry on with their #journeyfordreams
redBus kicks-off new campaign encouraging people to carry on with their #journeyfordreams

Link to the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPK7uNmdYjE

Creative Credits:

Agency: McCann Worldgroup – Bengaluru

Creative Director: Sambit Mohanty

Production House: Another Idea

Director: Puneet Prakash

DOP: Pratik Deora 

Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Pallavi Chopra, Vice President, Brand, and Head of Marketing, redBus, said, “As an enabler of journeys, it has been our constant endeavour to help travellers reach their destinations in the safest and easiest way possible, especially in the present circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted the business of establishments, but also the dreams and aspirations of millions of individuals out there, who are longing to travel in pursuit of their goals. We thus envisaged a subject or scenario that resonated with households across the country in order to shape the campaign. The result is a very strong and emotional narrative around one of those important journeys in life, projected through the love and concern between a father and daughter, to drive home the message of #journeyfordreams.”

Dileep Ashoka, EVP, South, McCann Worldgroup, said, “We have been in partnership with redBus for the last few years. Being in the businesses of facilitating life’s journeys, and being the custodian of the online bus ticketing category, we felt the imperative to comfort customers by making travel safe in these uncertain times. The story narrative seeks to demonstrate this in a manner that drives brand affinity.”