Could Bus Travel Become Brilliant? One Canadian Startup Thinks So

Let’s face it. If money were not a factor in the equation, most of us would probably not choose bus travel as as a first choice of transportation. However, a forward-thinking Canadian startup company called BusBud is seeking to change that perception by simplifying the process of booking tickets for bus routes around the world.

Thomas Geissmann is the company’s chief revenue officer and general council. He was born in France but now resides in Canada. The entrepreneur has called attention to the fact that there’s no global bus travel portal for people who’re looking for information about how to get where they need to go, and what time the routes depart. Through BusBud, he hopes to change all that.

In places like Turkey and India, bus travel is the preferred method of getting around, so the Canadian company is already doing very well in those parts of the world. However, as for the rest of us, some more convincing might be in order. One of the main perks of BusBud is it allows users to go to one website, and then use it to plot bus routes and buy tickets all over the world. Admittedly, one of the things that frustrates many people about bus travel is how it’s often necessary to use multiple apps to find route information, such as those that are offered directly by the respective bus companies. BusBud may be able to eliminate that hassle, at least if all goes according to plan.

You might be under the impression people prefer to board airplanes to get around, but during an interview with VentureBeat, Geissmann pointed out that his company has done extensive research about bus travel and discovered it’s the transportation mode of choice for people around the world. In Mexico alone, he says, over 350 million people opt to hop on a bus and get on the go.

Even though BusBud only got off the ground earlier this year, it apparently already has several bus travel aficionados who appreciate the service. More than a million, in fact. That’s in addition to more than 100 contracts the company has signed with bus travel providers.

According to the BusBud website, even in these early phases of the business, it’s now possible to book bus travel in 10,463 cities located in 89 total countries. The Canadian startup is also eyeing working with Greyhound, the bus travel company that serves the United States, but sometimes has a reputation of being more stressful than streamlined. Here’s hoping BusBud might be able to make bus travel simpler and more enjoyable for everyone, no matter where they live.

[Image Credit: Team-BHP.com]