If you are planning a trip, what is the one task which keeps on bothering you the most? Booking a bus ticket? Standing in a long queue to book a ticket could be a trying process. And when you are living in a digital world where you can access anything anywhere by just clicking a button, in such a scenario how can travel industry lack behind.
The bus travel industry in India is unorganized and highly fragmented. According to the reports, it is a $120 billion annual turnover industry with a growth rate of 25% per year which indicates that it is growing at a rapid pace. There are around 2000 private bus operators which function with almost 20, 000 buses on point to point routes.
Sensing the opportunity to tap the untapped market various players like redBus, Yatra.com, Travelyaari, Makemytrip etc mushroomed up. Despite the online bus ticketing market being dominated by these big players, yet there is another startup which is trying to make its place in the market and that is Indore-based startup -- Golofty.
Founded in December 2016 by Aman Khurana, Golofty is a hub for all your bus booking needs.
Hailing from a business background, Aman always wanted to to do something different that leaves a trail. Obsessed with the transportation sector, Aman, after completing his graduation started bidding in various schemes of government and private tenders in transportation space. While working in the industry, he observed that people are still facing problem in booking bus ticket or hiring a bus for their family trip. And this is where Aman stumbled upon the idea of Golofty.
“I always wanted something that describes some exclusive quality which differs from all which is something related to high-rise, elevated and "Buland" that is essential in every business and so I decided the word LOFTY that describes all this in one word. For finalizing and combining it to tourism, I launched it with GoLofty,” says Aman Khurana, founder, Golofty.
[caption id="attachment_116848" align="alignleft" width="317"]
Aman Khurana, Founder - GoLofty[/caption]GoLofty.com is a hub for all bus booking needs covering over 75,000 routes in India. The startup claims to have more than 2500 bus operators along with the specialists constantly to help its customers avail great deals. “Our network of bus ticket bookings and bus hire spread in 3440 cities across India which are growing every day too,” informs Aman.
Having a presence on both mobile and desktop, Golofty is experiencing express checkout of 10 seconds on both the platform by making booking hassle free from its customer. Talking about how secure is the site, Founder claims that portal is also fully secured with green lock and comply with all regulations.
On asking about the response from the customers, Aman says,“The customers are really liking the simple and attractive format of our website due to the ease it provides in booking tickets. Since our inception, we have seen the significant rise in our customer base which are hailing from all major cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Aurangabad, Pune, Mumbai, Coimbatore to name few,” says Aman.
Starting with the initial investment of INR 10 -15 lacs, Golofty has achieved a massive increment in its sale in a short period of time.
Talking about their competitors, Aman believes that Golofty doesn't have any direct competitors. But they do have indirect competition with startups like Redbus, Yatra.com to name few.
“All the features which we have introduced are launched for the first time in its category. We expertise to offer our premium customers the power to search for group tours. If one is planning to hire a bus for any marriage purpose, corporate tour, outing or any pilgrimage purpose, Golofty is here to find it for its customers with ease. They just need to give us their details and we will get back to them with the best offers from major operators near them,” says Aman.
Another interesting thing that stands them aloof from their competitor is the advertising. Golofty has designed an advertising campaign, especially for the bus operators. According to Aman, bus operators are given the option to advertise with them through which they can list their newly launched buses and also promote their routes
As Golofty continues to grow in India, Aman is already eyeing opportunities beyond online bus ticketing. In near future, Aman plans to introduce several other services like rail reservation, flight booking, cab/taxi booking, tour/holidays packages, hotel booking, mobile/DTH recharge, bill payment and domestic money transfer for its users.
Not only this, the bootstrapped startup is planning to raise its angel round to strengthen its technology and to expand its category. “I am currently looking to raise around INR 3-5 Mn to increase our market size and make people aware about are features.Our ambition is to bring every bit of available routes online and to create the easiest and cheapest way for customers to book it,” concludes Aman.
The bus travel industry in India is unorganized and highly fragmented. According to the reports, it is a $120 billion annual turnover industry with a growth rate of 25% per year which indicates that it is growing at a rapid pace. There are around 2000 private bus operators which function with almost 20, 000 buses on point to point routes.
Sensing the opportunity to tap the untapped market various players like redBus, Yatra.com, Travelyaari, Makemytrip etc mushroomed up. Despite the online bus ticketing market being dominated by these big players, yet there is another startup which is trying to make its place in the market and that is Indore-based startup -- Golofty.
Founded in December 2016 by Aman Khurana, Golofty is a hub for all your bus booking needs.
Hailing from a business background, Aman always wanted to to do something different that leaves a trail. Obsessed with the transportation sector, Aman, after completing his graduation started bidding in various schemes of government and private tenders in transportation space. While working in the industry, he observed that people are still facing problem in booking bus ticket or hiring a bus for their family trip. And this is where Aman stumbled upon the idea of Golofty.
“I always wanted something that describes some exclusive quality which differs from all which is something related to high-rise, elevated and "Buland" that is essential in every business and so I decided the word LOFTY that describes all this in one word. For finalizing and combining it to tourism, I launched it with GoLofty,” says Aman Khurana, founder, Golofty.
Business Mockup
[caption id="attachment_116848" align="alignleft" width="317"]
Aman Khurana, Founder - GoLofty[/caption]GoLofty.com is a hub for all bus booking needs covering over 75,000 routes in India. The startup claims to have more than 2500 bus operators along with the specialists constantly to help its customers avail great deals. “Our network of bus ticket bookings and bus hire spread in 3440 cities across India which are growing every day too,” informs Aman.Having a presence on both mobile and desktop, Golofty is experiencing express checkout of 10 seconds on both the platform by making booking hassle free from its customer. Talking about how secure is the site, Founder claims that portal is also fully secured with green lock and comply with all regulations.
On asking about the response from the customers, Aman says,“The customers are really liking the simple and attractive format of our website due to the ease it provides in booking tickets. Since our inception, we have seen the significant rise in our customer base which are hailing from all major cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Aurangabad, Pune, Mumbai, Coimbatore to name few,” says Aman.
Starting with the initial investment of INR 10 -15 lacs, Golofty has achieved a massive increment in its sale in a short period of time.
What Makes Them Unique
Talking about their competitors, Aman believes that Golofty doesn't have any direct competitors. But they do have indirect competition with startups like Redbus, Yatra.com to name few.
“All the features which we have introduced are launched for the first time in its category. We expertise to offer our premium customers the power to search for group tours. If one is planning to hire a bus for any marriage purpose, corporate tour, outing or any pilgrimage purpose, Golofty is here to find it for its customers with ease. They just need to give us their details and we will get back to them with the best offers from major operators near them,” says Aman.
Another interesting thing that stands them aloof from their competitor is the advertising. Golofty has designed an advertising campaign, especially for the bus operators. According to Aman, bus operators are given the option to advertise with them through which they can list their newly launched buses and also promote their routes
Road Ahead
As Golofty continues to grow in India, Aman is already eyeing opportunities beyond online bus ticketing. In near future, Aman plans to introduce several other services like rail reservation, flight booking, cab/taxi booking, tour/holidays packages, hotel booking, mobile/DTH recharge, bill payment and domestic money transfer for its users.
Not only this, the bootstrapped startup is planning to raise its angel round to strengthen its technology and to expand its category. “I am currently looking to raise around INR 3-5 Mn to increase our market size and make people aware about are features.Our ambition is to bring every bit of available routes online and to create the easiest and cheapest way for customers to book it,” concludes Aman.
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