Mumbai: App-based bus service raises Rs 57 crore funding for expansion

Cityflo has adopted an asset light model, partnering with bus operators, and is more than doubling in scale every year

Mumbai-based Cityflo, an app-based bus service for corporate professionals, raised Rs 57 crore funding as part of their expansion plan.

Founded in May 2015 by Jerin Venad and his friends from his alma mater, IIT Bombay, the brand provides an alternative to driving through Mumbai traffic. Cityflo connects popular residential areas in Mumbai like the Western suburbs, Navi Mumbai and Thane, to major commercial hubs in the city. Over the years, the company has expanded its presence to office hubs in Lower Parel, Andheri, BKC and Colaba. At present, they run 160 buses and log over 8,000 bookings daily.

At a time when businesses have been adversely impacted due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Cityflo has seen positive reception from its customers and an increasing number of office-commuters are opting for its services.

Cityflo that has been certified as a "Safe Way to Travel" by an FSSAI and NABL accredited private lab, aims to utilise the amount raised to enhance its offerings beyond industry standards, expand services on the current and new routes, and strengthen its position as a daily commute brand for the city's working professionals. It is also working towards skilling drivers with regard to customer service etiquette. They will also be launching a facility soon where bus drivers can park their buses at the end of the day, rest and recuperate.

Jerin Venad, co-founder of Cityflo, said, "We plan to invest the proceeds from our Series A funding to upgrade our operations, increase our presence across heavy traffic routes in Mumbai and grow Cityflo into a go-to brand for office commute."

Co-founder Sankalp Kelshikar said, "We are changing the perception that buses are slower than cars by limiting the number of boarding points on our routes."

The Series A funding is led by Lightbox Ventures and India Quotient, who had infused a seed amount of Rs 3 crore into Cityflo in 2019 along with other angel investors, has also participated in the round.

Siddharth Talwar, partner, Lightbox Ventures, said, "Cityflo holds a lot of promise as a brand for the working professionals who fight traffic for hours on end every day and incur costs in terms of time."

Anand Lunia, partner, India Quotient, said, "We invested in Cityflo not because theirs was a unique business proposition but due to the fact that its services set out to solve something that numerous office commuters faced daily. The company, with its offerings, is also allaying fears around travelling by a bus instead of their cars thanks to its focus on safety. There is already an increase in demand from organisations who are booking exclusive buses for their employees to travel to work and back."

Cityflo has adopted an asset light model, partnering with bus operators, and is more than doubling in scale every year.

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