Redbus eyes global roads, tier-3 towns as next growth engines: CEO Prakash Sangam

As India’s economy accelerates and infrastructure projects open up new highways, Redbus, the country’s largest online bus ticketing platform, is steering into its next phase of growth by deepening presence across smaller towns and expanding globally, according to Chief Executive Officer Prakash Sangam.

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Speaking to The Federal on the sidelines of the Global Startup Summit in Coimbatore, Sangam said India’s expanding expressway network and rapid economic growth were driving a resurgence in road travel and Redbus is positioning itself to capture that momentum both domestically and overseas.

Local roots, global reach

“We are fortunate to be in a country growing quite fast economically and in a sector where infrastructure improvements like new highways and expressways are creating huge opportunities,” Sangam said. “This potential will be here for many years to come.”

Founded in 2006, Redbus has been a pioneer in digitising India’s intercity bus ticketing market. Today, it operates across eight international markets, including Southeast Asia and Latin America, exporting its Indian model to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, and Colombia. Sangam said that while the platform’s fundamentals remain the same — connecting bus operators with travellers — localisation has been key to its global success.

“The underlying needs don’t change — operators want better sales and travellers want convenience,” he said. “But we localise features such as payments and language. For instance, in Indonesia, we support offline payments through supermarkets.”

Riding India’s pilgrimage boom

Back home, Redbus is expanding beyond buses into rail ticketing and budget hotel bookings, catering to India’s growing intercity and pilgrimage travel segments. The company’s “Redbus Hotels” platform lists budget stays such as lodges and hostels, often used by bus travellers.

Sangam noted a shift in post-pandemic travel patterns, with pilgrimage tourism emerging as a major driver of growth. “We’ve seen record numbers in destinations like Tiruvannamalai, Madurai, and Tiruchendur,” he said, adding that religious travel has surged across both northern and southern India.

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While Redbus initially gained traction by connecting metro cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, and Coimbatore, Sangam said its reach has now extended well beyond urban centres.

“About 67% of our bookings now originate from non-metros,” he said. “We cover over 5,00,000 unique routes and connect more than 10,000 towns across India.”

Expanding reach, fuelling demand

The company works with 25 state road transport corporations (RTCs) to offer public-sector bus inventory on its platform. However, Sangam acknowledged that Tamil Nadu’s state transport corporation is yet to join. “We hope to work with TNSTC soon,” he added.

On competition from other private players and even state-operated portals, Sangam said Redbus’s advantage lies in its scale and network effect.

“As long as we have the largest inventory, travellers will come to us,” he said. “During peak times like Diwali, when train and flight tickets are sold out or expensive, people know they can still find a bus on Redbus. That creates a flywheel — more inventory brings more demand, and more demand brings more supply.”

AI powering smarter operations

Sangam also highlighted artificial intelligence as a key enabler in customer support and internal productivity. The company uses AI-powered chatbots to manage large volumes of customer queries efficiently, particularly during travel peaks.

“AI helps us scale customer service without scaling human headcount,” he said. “It’s also improving internal productivity — employees are using AI as co-pilots for coding and other tasks.”

Profitable and pushing ahead

Asked about profitability, Sangam said Redbus is already in the black. The company is part of the MakeMyTrip Group, listed on the NASDAQ, and reports consolidated quarterly results. “At a group level, we are profitable — and I can say that bus ticketing, too, is profitable,” Sangam said.

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As Redbus accelerates its global journey while deepening its domestic footprint, Sangam believes the digital transformation of road travel is only beginning. “There’s still so much headroom for growth — in India and beyond,” he said.