20% increase in intercity tourist bus reservations : redBus report – OXBIG NEWS NETWORK-OxBig News Network

MUMBAI : redBus, the digital bus ticketing service, released its Annual BusTrack Report on Thursday, offering detailed analysis of intercity travel trends across private bus services in India. The report presented a specific focus on Maharashtra’s travel patterns, booking behaviours and favoured routes for 2024-25. The state recorded a notable 20% increase in intercity tourist bus reservations compared to the previous year, it stated.The report highlighted a few findings for Maharashtra. This included the most popular routes — the busiest travel corridors were identified as Pune-Goa, Pune-Hyderabad, Pune-Indore and Mumbai-Hyderabad, showcasing Maharashtra’s vital transport links with Western and Southern India.When it came to reservation patterns, nearly half (49%) of travellers opted for same-day bookings, while 46% secured their travel 1-7 days beforehand, suggesting a preference for spontaneous and short-term journey planning.The study also showed small city growth. Smaller cities (Tier 3) in Maharashtra demonstrated a 23% rise in digital bookings year-on-year, indicating increased online platform adoption outside major urban centres.In case of travel timings, weekday journeys constituted 69% of all bookings, suggesting a predominance of professional and business-related travel. Maharashtra’s travellers also showed strong inclination towards Sleeper buses (87%) and AC buses (82%), reflecting demand for comfortable and overnight journey options, the redBus report added.