Intercity buses record 147 mn passengers travel in 6 months: redBus report
RedBus
Pan-India bus occupancy stood at 77%, with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recording a higher occupancy than the national average at 83%.
redBus has released the latest edition of its India BusTrack Report, a comprehensive tracker of intercity bus travel trends across passengers, regions and private operators in India. The report spotlights the evolving scale and momentum of India’s intercity bus sector for the period from October 2025 to March 2026 and the corresponding period in the previous years.
Intercity buses carried 147.19 million passengers from October 2025 to March 2026 in India, reflecting a 24% increase in passenger volumes compared to the same period in the previous years. Gross ticketing value increased by 20% to INR 142.16 billion. The number of active private operators also rose to more than 6,800 reflecting the widening operator base and strengthening network depth across India’s intercity routes. These numbers pertain to all Indian private operators, not just redBus.
The edition further highlights evolving traveller preferences across India’s intercity bus sector. Sleeper and hybrid buses accounted for 86% of all journeys, while AC buses accounted for 72%, reflecting sustained demand for comfort-led and longer-distance travel.
Key insights from overall Indian intercity bus industry include, unique routes grew by 31%, while towns connected increased by 12% over April–September 2025, underscoring the continued expansion of organised intercity bus travel and deeper connectivity across India’s smaller towns and cities. Nearly 2/3 (64%) of routes were over 250 km.
Maharashtra & Goa accounted for the highest share of total seat bookings at 16%, followed by Tamil Nadu (including Pondicherry) at 14%. Andhra Pradesh & Telangana together contributed 11%, and Karnataka also contributed 11%. Pan-India bus occupancy stood at 77%, with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recording a higher occupancy than the national average at 83%. This data pertains to all private bus inventory connected to redBus platform; just redBus sales.
Insights based on redBus bookings include young travellers dominated bookings, with the 18–36 age group accounting for 69%; increasingly, there is a growing contribution of Gen Z, travellers. Male passengers comprised 66% of travellers.
Smaller cities and towns continued to drive digital bus ticketing, with 62% of bus journeys originating in small cities and towns.
In Andhra Pradesh-Telangana region intra-regional travel accounts for 69% of the total travel, while inter-regional travel contributes 31%. The average ticket price for bus journey in this region is INR 1016; higher than the all India average of INR 966; This region has the highest bus occupancy at 83%; while all India occupancy is at 77%.
“Digitisation has been rapid and the active bus operator count has increased to 6858. Due to the digitisation of many short route bus services, the average seat price (ASP) has dropped 3% this year to Rs.966. The industry recorded a healthy 77% occupancy during this period,” said Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus.
Sangam added, “In this edition of BusTrack, the spotlight is on Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, two robust markets that have strongly driven the growth of India’s intercity bus industry. Interestingly, both states have consistently shown higher than national bus occupancy at around 83% since the latter half of 2025. The region also recorded a higher average seat price of Rs. 1,016, compared to the national average of Rs. 966. This indicates high customer demand and potential for bus operators looking to expand.”
