Canadian-based coach travel booking site Busbud.com has secured an additional $9 million in funding from a group of investors.
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Coach travel site Busbud secures $9m funding
Canadian-based coach travel booking site Busbud.com has secured an additional $9 million in funding from a group of investors.
They include Real Ventures, which co-led an initial $1.2 million seed round for the Montreal-based company in May last year.
The cash influx came as Busbud signed a deal with National Express to open up almost 1,600 new UK and Europe destinations to users.
The company currently offers bus schedules and tickets for 10,463 cities in 89 countries, in 10 languages and 21 currencies, using almost 1,500 coach companies.
Chief executive and co-founder LP Maurice said: “It’s easy to find and book plane tickets on sites like Expedia or Kayak. Booking coach tickets online is a whole other story. Our goal is to make it easier to choose coaches.”
Kevin Kimsa, managing director of OMERS Ventures – one of four investors backing the latest round of funding – said: “Busbud is at the forefront of the transformation of the large and growing global bus travel industry into a modern marketplace. LP and his management team have built an industry-leading platform marrying supply and demand at a time when app-based services are simply expected.”
David Golden, managing partner at Revolution Ventures, added: “Busbud solves a real problem for international travellers looking to find the best way to get from A to B.
“Companies like Uber, Lyft, Hailo and Sidecar are using technology to revolutionise travel for consumers. In the same vein, Busbud is using technology to bring clarity and consistency to the global bus industry, which otherwise operates in a fragmented market.”
Busbud has grown its staff from five to more than 30 employees since early 2013, and continues to hire for new positions.
Maurice, a Harvard MBA, had the idea for the platform while backpacking across South America in 2011. Later that year, he co-founded Busbud with two friends, Microsoft veteran Mike Gradek, now chief technology officer, and chief analytics officer Frederic Thouin.
