Trade Bytes

Via launches kiosks for booking bus tickets

Gayatri Vijaykumar - Bangalore

Bangalore-based travel services portal Via has announced the launch of kiosks that will allow customers to book bus tickets online. Via claims they are the first such travel kiosk in the country and has plans of operating around 500 such kiosks around high traffic areas in the country.

The company is also in talks with the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and the state transport corporations of Punjab and Haryana for the distribution of tickets. Vinay Gupta, CEO of Via, says, "Bus surface transport was an unorganised business till now. We are trying to bring the facility to the consumer and organise the business." Plans are on for tying up with 100 bus operators throughout the country shortly. Set up at a cost of Rs 1 lakh, the company is thinking over providing franchisee options to third parties for setting up and running the kiosks.

"The kiosk is a transparent means of distribution. We have loaded around eight private operators right now. We also plan to incorporate rail tickets and hotel booking options via these kiosks in future," added Gupta. Users will not be charged any additional fees for using these kiosks. However, Via will collect commission from the operators. "Customers will be able to pay using their debit or credit cards or hand over cash to an attended who will be seated near the kiosk," explained Gupta. Any cancellations will have to be done by calling the customer service helpline.