Singapore-based transport disruptor Bussr has the attention of the global investment community for its vision to change the way the world moves from A to B, and for the abundance of talent at its table. Bussr’s vision springs from the trio of former Rocket Internet founder and CEO Hussein Abdelkarim, veteran technology consultant and co-founder I.M. Shousha, and former Microsoft Chief Architect, co-founder and CTO Ajay Bhandari.
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With people looking for better lives in our cities, the world’s urban population has grown 55% in the last 50 years, and now generates more than 80% of our global GDP. Central to this is mobility, and demand for urban road passenger transport is expected to double by 2050. The economy is reliant on the freedom of movement for its citizens to be productive members of society.
Forward-thinking cities have had the realization that the future lies in mass transit such as buses, subways, trains, and ferries, as well as walking and cycling. The rise of electric vehicles (EVs), micromobility, Uber, Grab, and Didi have made inroads over the last few years, but much more needs to be done to address the systemic throttling in the global transport sector.
Hussein Abdelkarim, Shousha and Bhandari see the current transport sector as a chaotic dance. But by digitizing this mobility they trust their technology will bring a choreographed elegance to the way people travel. Each Bussr trip is a choreographed, seamless leap from place to place, leaving cities less congested, less polluted, free to breathe again. All of which are part of Bussr realizing its goal of “Digitizing mobility. Connecting the world.”
Bussr’s Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) technology acts as both an app for private use and an end-to-end, omnichannel ticketing, payment, and fleet management solution for enterprises. Its specialist artificial intelligence (AI) platform continually monitors millions of data points to help mass transportation systems operate at optimal efficiency for both passengers and operators.
Bussr’s app can be branded or white-labeled for transport providers and is available to cities, operators, schools, and corporates. The enterprise use of Bussr allows the management of ticketing and payment and provides immense data insight into traveller flow, density, and timing. Operators can then accurately predict and plan the future needs of both passengers and transport solutions.
Bussr’s Big Thinking Has Attracted Big Backing
Bussr recently raised an undisclosed amount in a round led by high-profile investors, such as Bridford Group, Peng Ong of Monk’s Hill, Le Mercier Group, Jack Selby of Thiel Capital, Altitude Partners, Angela Huang of Hillhouse, Duncan Clark, Founder of China BDA, Alibaba early investor and author of the book ‘The House That Jack Ma Built,’ Andrew Huang of Fountainvest, and AI Capital, the founding team of Siri. There are also strategic angel investors from Facebook, PayPal, Lyft, Spotify, Zoom, Didi, and Impossible Foods.
The funds will expand Bussr teams across engineering and product design while also creating further strategic partnerships to enhance its reputation as a global player in mobility technology, a market that analysts say will reach US$908.8 billion by 2027. And Bussr, by digitizing this mobility market, trust that their technology will bring an elegance to the way people travel.
The Bussr app is available on Android and iOS, and can provide full travel options utilizing ride-sharing, public buses, trains, renting of scooters, and even bicycles to complete a trip. The user enters Point A and Point B, and the app manages every facet of the journey, AI providing the optimal route in terms of time and cost, while reducing the carbon footprint by reducing dependence on single-occupant vehicle use.
Bussr also offers real-time communication, fleet maintenance, and automated workflows creating the foundations of efficient fleet management. Cities and operators will ultimately be able to manage their citizen and passenger mobility needs better while reducing pollution and congestion. Future-proofing benefits for governments and private mobility partners include facial recognition capabilities for passenger check-in, safety, and security.
More than 900 transport partners are enjoying the advantages of Bussr technology including Bluebird, the largest private transportation group in Southeast Asia, and Royal Platinum and Pahala Kencana, the largest intracity and intercity private operators in Indonesia. There are also 60 major payment providers already on the Bussr platform, and with 2,500 destinations in 370 cities, more than 6,000,000 travellers used Bussr’s network in 2020.