I

Intrcity

eCommerce & Marketplaces · Noida, India · Founded 2002

Intrcity is a technology-enabled inter-city mobility platform in India that operates a fleet of branded buses under its flagship brand, IntrCity SmartBus. The company was founded in 2011 by Manish Rathi, Kapil Raizada, and Sachin Saxena, initially launching RailYatri to provide information for train passengers. Recognizing the gap in reliable and standardized long-distance bus travel, they launched IntrCity SmartBus in early 2019, starting with the Delhi-Lucknow route. Intrcity operates on an asset-light or 'managed marketplace' business model. It partners with existing bus operators, who own and operate the vehicles, while IntrCity provides the technology, branding, and standardized passenger experience. This includes features like online booking, live bus tracking, onboard washrooms, Wi-Fi, and private cabins. The company has also established branded boarding lounges in several cities. This model allows bus operators to benefit from better asset utilization and access to a wider customer base through technology, while IntrCity focuses on the customer experience and network management. Revenue is generated through a revenue-sharing agreement with the bus operators on ticket sales. The company's journey began as RailYatri, a platform designed to provide data and accurate information to train travelers, addressing the uncertainty of waitlisted tickets. The founders, Manish Rathi, Kapil Raizada, and Sachin Saxena, identified that millions of travelers with unconfirmed train tickets were a potential market for an alternative mode of transport. This insight, coupled with the realization that the existing intercity bus market was fragmented and lacked a standardized experience, led to the creation of IntrCity SmartBus. The company leverages data from its RailYatri app, which serves over 14 million users monthly, to understand traveler behavior and optimize bus routes and services. Headquartered in Noida, IntrCity has expanded its services to over 630 routes across 16 states in India. The company has secured significant funding from investors including A91 Partners, Blume Ventures, Samsung Venture Investment, and Omidyar Network. A recent Series D funding round raised substantial capital to enhance technology, expand the fleet, and deepen its presence in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. The company has reported profitability and strong year-over-year revenue growth, with ambitions to significantly increase its turnover and fleet size. Keywords: inter-city bus, mobility platform, bus aggregator, asset-light model, bus travel India, RailYatri, Manish Rathi, Kapil Raizada, tech-enabled transportation, long-distance travel, SmartBus, standardized bus service, online bus booking, sleeper bus, fleet management, travel technology, passenger experience, bus network