Online travel agent Cleartrip has partnered with RedBus and Travelyaari to introduce online bus ticketing service. The financial details and the deal period of the partnership have not been disclosed yet. One just needs to enter the source and destination location along with the date of travel. The platform lists out bus travel options with details such as bus operator, departure/arrival time, duration, seats remaining and price. Once a bus is selected, users can choose the seat and confirm payment after giving information about the traveler. The entire process is very similar to RedBus booking process. One can filter results based on recommended, volvo, bus operators, price, departure time, bus type, among others. The company claims that the recommended tab shows only top 15 buses rated by Cleartrip score algorithm, which is calculated on various parameters such as ratings, comfort, seat availability, and price. It appears that Cleartrip will be taking commission on each booking done through its site as the final payment is received by RedBus or Travelyaari website depending on who is offering that particular bus ticketing service. We believe that the partnership with two bus ticketing sites will give Cleartrip a leverage over other sites as it will offer better coverage from wide range of bus operators. The only thing that comes to our mind is what took Cleartrip so long to introduced online bus ticketing service. Interestingly, RedBus was acquired by ibibo group, which also operates Cleartrip competitor Goibibo, for an undisclosed amount. RedBus had also powered powered ticket booking…
