Distribusion announces Rome2rio tie-up

Global bus travel distributor Distribusion is to work with multi-modal transport search engine Rome2rio.

Global bus travel distributor Distribusion is to work with multi-modal transport search engine Rome2rio.

The tie-in allows Rome2rio users to search its site for available bus tickets from 165 operators worldwide. The content has been implemented through the Distribusion API.

The move is the first step towards integrating intercity and shuttle bus bookings into Rome2rio and forms part of an ongoing strategy to offer more onsite bookings.

This includes integration with SilverRail and Travelport to offer rail and flight bookings respectively.

Rome2rio chief executive, Rod Cuthbert, said: “This partnership is one of several deals that mark our intention to be a major player in consumer flight, rail, bus and ferry bookings worldwide, with the distinct advantage over rivals of a powerful search engine capability that allows users to perform the discovery phase of their booking process on the same site as the booking itself.”

He added: “That search advantage delivers consistent, high-volume and rapidly growing traffic to Rome2rio.

“Our users are asking questions like ‘How do I get from Split to Ancona?’ and ‘How do I get from Dublin to Birmingham?’ which other sites can only answer in part.

“Because so many journeys can be done in multiple ways, and because so many have multiple components, savvy users are nowadays looking for a site which gives them all the transport options and all the journey components. That’s a job we do uniquely well.”

Distribusion founder, Julian Hauck, added: “In many parts of the world buses are the main mode of long-distance transportation.

“With the recent market liberalisations in Europe, buses have become more popular as a travel option.

“We are very happy to provide Rome2rio with the best bus portfolio possible to make international bus rides available to their users.”