RailYatri selects GoldSeat for IoT tracking, WiFi, entertainment on IntrCity buses

Nandan Nilekani-backed travel services provider RailYatri has partnered with Delhi-based offline app-based solutions provider GoldSeat to offer internet of things-based tracking, WiFi and entertainment for its managed fleet of IntrCity SmartBuses owned by various operators.

The IntrCity SmartBus fleet currently includes 50 buses running in north and south India, and will be expanding to more than 300 buses by the end of the year, RailYatri said in a statement.

The service, aimed at providing smart bus travel with internet access, operates across major cities like Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Amritsar, Shimla, Manali, Kanpur and  Lucknow. The company claims that at least 20 million travellers have used the service.

RailYatri’s bus ticket offering includes 5,000 bus operators over one lakh routes.

Though the buses have IoT devices and in-house entertainment features, the company needed to customise these solutions, Manish Rathi, CEO and co-founder of RailYatri, said.

“We needed customised solutions based on our specific needs around safety, live tracking and WiFi. The GoldSeat team has been very proactive on customising their solutions around our needs, and have also hired staff across India to service our needs,” Rathi said.

Noida-based Stelling Technologies, the company that runs RailYatri which was incorporated in 2011 by Rathi, Kapil Raizada and Sachin Saxena, had raised an undisclosed sum in a seed funding from early-stage investor Blume Ventures in 2014. The following year it raised capital from Helion Venture Partners and impact investor Omidyar Network. Infosys founder Nandan Nilekani invested in the startup in 2016. Last year, Omidyar led a $10 million Series B round in the startup. Existing investors Blume, Helion Venture Partners and Nilekani participated in the round.

Ideagami,  the company that runs GoldSeat, was incorporated in 2016. Last year, it had raised a seed funding of around Rs 1 crore from an angel investor.