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Traditional inter-city bus travel has been revitalised thanks to the entry of branded players into the industry. Branded players' sole aim has always been to organise the market by analysing and addressing the unidentified needs and problems of Bharat travellers while they opt for a bus journey.
In the traditional setup, the MSME operators broadly straddled the task of providing a uniform and reliable service to the user, which resulted in a loss of travellers' faith and confidence in their service. The branded players' emergence has reincarnated traditional bus travel not only for travellers but also for bus fleet owners. To grow to the next level, what the MSME operators sorely needed was technology adoption and digitization. The consolidation of cutting-edge technology with data has made bus travel more safe, secure, and comfortable than before. In the niche segment of inter-city mobility, SmartBus travel has been particularly path-breaking.
A SmartBus Ecosystem
Today’s SmartBus have well-defined hygiene and sanitation protocols, besides onboard washroom facilities. SmartBus mobility platform empowers fleet owners with liberalised access to end-to-end technology. These technology-driven solutions have helped travellers consider SmartBuses a comparable service to trains. The entire industry is banking on the SmartBus ecosystem to establish a new and safer normal for inter-city travellers who prefer efficient and still budget-friendly options to travel inter-city in India.
The technology offered by the SmartBus platform has changed how MSME bus operators as well as Indian travellers look at inter-city mobility today. With the emergence of technology-based platforms in the inter-city bus travel segment, advances in ground transportation have reached new heights. Not only has it empowered average travellers with a reliable, safe and punctual mobility choice, but it has helped the micro, small and medium enterprises of India’s countless bus operators in myriad ways.
The adoption of connected buses has helped inter-city bus operators to grow their business, expand their operations and service their customers better with digitised consumer facilities. The SmartBus platform hand holds the entire bus operator community, right from individual bus owners to operators of small to mid-sized fleets with operational and facilities assistance. Connected buses empower operators by way of vehicle management, staff management, such as examining driver performance from a remote location, as well as training and skilling of bus captains and bus drivers.
SmartBuses have helped MSME bus operators achieve a higher and more consistent revenue stream through better planning and visibility into demand and supply dynamics.
SmartBus Driving Smart Travel
For MSME bus operators, the SmartBus platform has brought in a paradigm shift by capturing entire journey and vehicle data in real time. What’s more, all this data is promptly processed, offering bus operators with 360-degree solutions to each and every issue, including suggestions for appropriate corrective measures.
This is achieved with the help of a suite of tech applications that include – (i.) an Operator Dashboard, (ii.) a Crew App, (iii.) a Consumer App, and (iv.) an IoT-based Fleet Analytics service.
Operator dashboard: Provides real-time journey statistics, vehicle performance, cost-cutting insights, and business insights.
Crew app: allows the bus crew to respond to consumers based on their demography, repeat behaviour, and pre-informed requirements, as well as collect data relevant to their journey.
Consumer app: allows travellers to make data-driven decisions (past performance of the bus, user reviews, ETA of buses) and manage their journey (pre-order food, live tracking, wake-up alarm).
Fleet analytics: a 24×7 command centre helps track buses and take real-time corrective actions. This is backed by onboard devices pre-fitted on buses that power IoT-based fleet analytics.
Today, deep tech has made it possible for India’s MSME bus operators to enjoy an immersive networking experience that provides complete safety, reliability, and punctuality to inter-city passengers.
SmartBus Empowerment: Reliability, Safety & Convenience
Reliability: Online ticket booking clarifies bus schedules and departure locations, while the consumer app adds to in-transit passenger experience. The SmartBus offers a live-tracking feature where bus operators as well as passengers, can view real-time locations and travel status on-ground.
Safety: Improving safety parameters is the core focus of the SmartBus. Monitoring and managing each bus journey and staying connected with the driver’s interface in the bus as well as the crew app, as well as the live cameras and sensors in the e-vehicle is a plus for bus operators. Efforts for women’s safety like the consumer app, a helpline number and verified crew members are other advantages for passengers, especially women travellers.
Convenience: Convenience and comfort are the bedrocks of inter-city travel. The SmartBus offers a whole range of amenities right from WiFi access and air conditioning to cabins, a more comfortable travel experience.
The future of intercity bus mobility is electric, safe, connected and dynamic. These trends are already visible across the globe and India, as the biggest bus market, will not be an exception.
Government Emphasis on Growing Road Travel
The Government of India’s thrust towards infrastructure development, especially for the creation and expansion of highways and expressways across the length and breadth of the country has also given a major boost to inter-city mobility.
| INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVE | REGION/ PROJECT STATUS | PARTICULARS |
| Yamuna Expressway | Delhi NCR/ Existing project | The Yamuna Expressway corridor is a 165-km stretch with six lanes connecting the NCR (Greater Noida) to Agra (prominent tourist hub in India), Mathura, etc. It is expected to act as a catalyst for economic and industrial development. |
| Gurgaon Sohna Highway | Delhi NCR/ Proposed project | The proposed highway project is being developed in two phases. Phase I running from Rajiv Chowk to Badshapur (8.94 km) and Phase II from Badshapur to Sohna (12.71 km). Both the phases are under construction and are expected to be operational by end-2022. |
| Delhi–Mumbai Expressway | Proposed project | The proposed expressway is expected to enhance connectivity of the region with other prominent industrial hubs along the DMIC, thereby positively impacting the overall market dynamics for the NCR. The expressway is 1,250-km-long and is expected to be operational by 2024–2025. |
| FNG Expressway | Delhi NCR/ Proposed project | A proposed 56-km-long expressway connecting Faridabad, Noida, and Ghaziabad is in the offing. Completion of the FNG corridor is expected to provide enhanced connectivity between Faridabad, Noida, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad. The expected completion of the project is likely between 2022–2023. |
| NICE/ BMIC Corridor | Bengaluru/ Existing project | Implemented by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Limited, the BMIC Corridor is a 4-6 lane highway. It was conceptualized by the Karnataka State Government in the 1990s to provide seamless connectivity between Bengaluru and Mysuru |
| Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) | Bengaluru/ Proposed project | The STRR is a proposed 281-km-long and 100-m-wide, 4-6 lane, bi-directional carriageway (2-3 lanes on either side). The project will connect major towns like Dabbaspet, Doddaballapur, Devanahalli, Hoskote, Hosur, Anekal, Kanakakapura, Ramanagara, and Magadi. |
| Bengaluru Mysore Expressway (BME) | Bengaluru/ Proposed project | The 117-km-long, 10-lane, BME is planned between Mysuru and Bengaluru. The 10-lane highway comprises a 6-lane access-controlled carriageway for traffic and a 2-lane service road on either side for the benefit of local traffic. |
| Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway/ Samruddhi Mahamarg | Mumbai/ Proposed project | The 701-km Samruddhi Mahamarg is a 6-lane road passing through Bhiwandi in the MMR to Nagpur, traversing key locations such as Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Jalna, Aurangabad, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Thane. |
| Hyderabad Regional Ring Road (RRR) | Hyderabad/ Proposed project | The 340-km RRR project by the NHAI is a proposed, 4-lane, access-controlled expressway connecting the towns of Sangareddy, Toopran, Choutuppal, Amangal, and Shankarpally. |
| Ahmedabad–Vadodara Expressway | Existing project | The 6-lane carriageway of 102-km will reduce the travel time from Ahmedabad to Vadodara. The Expressway further connects Phase I of the Vadodara–Mumbai Expressway through Surat, leading to JNPT (Phase II of the project). |
| Expansion of Ahmedabad–Gandhinagar Highway | Proposed project | The initiative to widen the existing Sarkhej–Gandhinagar Highway (44.5 km) to 6 lanes with 9 flyovers, railway bridges and a 4.18-km elevated corridor, is expected to be complete by Q4-2022. |
| Widening of NH-48 | Jaipur/ Proposed project | Six-lane expansion of the ~225-km stretch of NH-48 from Gurgaon (Haryana) to Jaipur. Once completed, the project is expected to create an entirely signal-free stretch between Jaipur and Gurgaon. |
| Raipur–Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor | Proposed project | The development of a greenfield expressway connecting Visakhapatnam to Raipur is expected to shorten the existing distance from 590 km to 464 km. The total travel time is expected to be reduced from 14 hours to just 7 hours. |
| Highway Enhancement | Vijayawada/ Proposed project | Proposed to connect NH-65 (towards Machilipatnam) and NH-16 (towards Guntur) for ease of traffic between cities and to avoid traffic congestions. |
| Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India |
Recent years have seen significant growth in India’s road infrastructure leading to the development of innumerable inter-city routes with similar travel time as trains. India’s robust domestic travel industry, coupled with factors like increasing adoption and domestic manufacturing of smart buses and e-vehicles will continue to create growth opportunities for inter-city mobility in the country.
The article is by Kapil Raizada, co-founder, IntrCity