Chinese charter bus platform Busge has sealed a strategic partnership with major bus manufacturers Sunlong Bus and Golden Dragon Bus. The two bus makes will invest capital and vehicles, said to be worth over ten million yuan, in Busge and the three parties will forge ahead with a “online + bus” venture.
The Busge platform was launched on February 28 this year by four co-founders under the umbrella of Jiangsu Wang Xun Network Technology company to offer services related to bus charter and leasing. Its chairman and CEO is Dong Zhou.
Busge leverages the internet to link up vehicle suppliers and users such as travel agencies, companies and private customers, and maximize the use of bus supplies by efficiently utilizing fragmented idling periods. Busge currently operates in Nanjing, Changzhou, Zhenjiang and Hefei.
Busge is also planning to launch a new “Bus and Driver” app in July, offering both travel and scheduled bus charter as its main services. Its latest partnership with Shanghai-based Sunlong
Bus provides a perfect opportunity for it to enter the bus hire market of Shanghai and its vicinity. In contrast to other custom bus hire platforms, Busge’s service not only covers city routes but also offers destination travel.
Mr. Zhou said the capital and resources from the investment will help it boost technology and improve the customer experience of listed Busge’s products, as well as expand recruitment and bus route network for developing specialized passenger service.
Busge has formed partnerships with over 200 travel companies and motor pools since February this year and now boasts over 6,000 vehicles at its disposal. Sunlong Bus will now provide
Busge with Battery Electric Vehicle buses for its shuttle segment to give it advantages on resource and cost.
Busge is the latest project in the burgeoning online bus platform segment in China that has been attracting widespread capital investment interest recently.
Shenzhen bus platforms DadaBus and DuduBus raised RMB42 million (approx: US$6.76 million) total investment and RMB12 million (approx: US$1.9 million) Pre-A investment respectively.
Didi-Kuaidi is also getting in on the action by launching a “direct shuttle service”, Didi Bus, in Beijing.(Translation by David)
