Two former Microsoft engineers have launched a travel search tool that combines product search with end-to-end route planning
Rome2rio offers hybrid travel search and route planner
Two former Microsoft engineers have launched a travel search tool that combines product search with end-to-end route planning.
Startup rome2rio aims to give users every possible option for getting from one place to another, including flights, ferries, trains and driving routes.
“The airport-to-airport thing has been solved really well by Kayak and Hipmunk, so we want to do the other end, like from the airport to where you want to go. Because no one goes on holiday at an airport,” said founder Michael Cameron.
Users begin by entering their starting point and final destination. Then rome2rio breaks the trip down into legs, as the founders explain in a video posted to Youtube:
For the flight section of the trip, rome2rio provides users with a list of possible services including prices, alongside details of what means of transport are available to take travellers to and from their arrival and departure airports.
Rome2rio does all this by crawling Kayak for pricing information and combining that with mapping software. Its revenue models is based on booking commissions.
The site is still very new but its founders plan to expand their network of ground transport in the U.S. to include more trains and taxi services.
