IntrCity SmartBus, an India-based intercity bus platform leveraging technology, has secured $30 million in funding to broaden its reach to smaller Indian cities and towns. The Series D round, an all-equity deal spearheaded by A91 Partners, places the startup’s post-money valuation at $140 million.
Intercity travel within India is on the rise, fueled by increasing migration from smaller towns to major cities for employment and education opportunities.
In response, New Delhi has greatly improved the nation’s highway system. Government statistics show that the national highway network has expanded by more than 60% in the last ten years, growing from 56,723 miles to 90,847 miles.
While railways are widespread, they are struggling with capacity limits and cannot keep up with the escalating demand for inter-state travel. This makes long-distance road travel a vital alternative. However, state-operated intercity bus services often lack reliability and comfort, which IntrCity SmartBus is designed to address.
Unlike conventional operators, IntrCity SmartBus operates on an asset-light model, partnering with local bus owners and outfitting their buses with unique hardware for real-time tracking, according to co-founder and president Kapil Raizada in an interview.
The startup also streamlines ticket sales and route management via its digital platform, which aids in determining service frequency, pickup locations, boarding terminals, and even seat arrangements based on passenger demand.
To uphold safety and service quality, IntrCity assigns trained personnel — known as “captains” — to each bus, Raizada told TechCrunch. Most buses include restroom facilities, and the company has also established air-conditioned waiting lounges with staff to enhance the pre-departure experience.
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“All our buses are connected to the cloud,” he stated. “We’ve created an in-house bus operating system that monitors and manages many parameters, such as CCTV, sound, and temperature levels.”
Established in 2019, IntrCity SmartBus initially functioned as an online train ticketing platform operating under the RailYatri brand. This starting point provided the team with early insights into intercity travel behavior and unmet needs in road-based transportation, Raizada noted.
Currently, RailYatri accounts for only about 10% of the startup’s total revenue, with the SmartBus business generating the remaining 90%, he added.
IntrCity SmartBus manages approximately 600 bus trips daily, carrying between 20,000 and 25,000 passengers each day, which amounts to almost 700,000 per month. The platform collaborates with over 50 local bus operators and runs routes that average over 311 miles. Around 95% of its services are overnight, primarily serving essential travel purposes like work, education, or important appointments.
The startup’s typical passengers are between 20 and 45 years old, and include small business owners, educators, government employees, sales representatives, and students.
The startup uses a hub-and-spoke model and has pinpointed 15 to 16 key economic hubs across India. It is active in 13 to 14 of these hubs, covering 15 states. The network spans all of northern India — from Jammu to Uttarakhand — and a large part of the south, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.
“We analyze a lot of data to understand what the consumer wants,” said Manish Rathi, co-founder and CEO of IntrCity SmartBus. “This includes decisions such as the ideal bus layout — should it be exclusively sleeper berths or a hybrid with both sleepers and seats?”
IntrCity SmartBus experienced a 67% year-over-year revenue increase to ₹5 billion (roughly $57 million) in the past fiscal year. The startup anticipates exceeding ₹7 billion (approximately $79 million) in revenue this year. It has maintained “EBITDA-positive” status for the last several years and intends to achieve full profitability this year.
With this new funding, the startup intends to expand its presence “deeper and wider” across the nation, improve the customer experience and safety measures, and upgrade its fleet management technology.
“One of the major challenges in bus travel across the country is the perception people have about buses. They are often seen as inferior to trains and flights,” Raizada told TechCrunch. “We aim to establish buses as the preferred mode of travel in India.”
According to a recent report by online bus ticketing platform RedBus, over 223 million intercity journeys were completed in India in the 2025 financial year. The sector introduced more than 72,000 new intercity routes last year, in addition to roughly 6,400 new buses, which boosted capacity by an estimated 265,000 daily seats.
Along with IntrCity SmartBus, India is witnessing a surge in new intercity bus startups, including ZingBus, LeafyBus, and FreshBus. European firm FlixBus also entered the Indian market early last year, indicating rising interest in this sector. Nevertheless, IntrCity considers operational performance more critical than competition.
“India presents unique challenges for road travel. If something can go wrong, it will,” Rathi said. “We prioritize operational excellence over simply building a network.”
