Introduction
When traveling, many individuals in India’s rural and metropolitan areas favor buses over other types of public transit. Even though most people choose to travel by bus because of considerations like accessibility and affordable ticket costs, the bus transportation sector in India still needs improvement. Many annoyances are associated with bus use, such as waiting for buses and standing in line to buy bus tickets. The Mumbai-based startup “Chalo” was formed in 2014 to address these issues. In 22 Indian cities, Chalo uses technology to make it easy for people to ride city buses. Here we are talking about What is Chalo Company? Chalo Company Profile, Founding Team, Business Model, and Many More.
We are discussing What is Chalo Company? Chalo Company Profile, Founding Team, Business Model, and Many More:
Table of Contents
Chalo – Company Highlights
| Company Name | Chalo |
| Headquarter | Navi Mumbai, India |
| Industry | Public Transportation |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Mohit Dubey, Priya Singh Dubey, Dhruv Chopra, Vinayak Bhavnani, Nikhil Aggarwal |
| Website | https://chalo.com/ |
Chalo – About
Chalo is a company that offers technology-driven mobility solutions with the goal of enhancing public transit. The major goal of the firm is to increase bus ridership by improving city bus services by making them more dependable, straightforward, simple, and time efficient.
Customers may follow any bus live and know its estimated arrival time using the Chalo App, which is provided by Chalo. As a result, you won’t have to wait at the bus stop and can instead arrange to get there just a few minutes before the bus arrives.
The Chalo app is cost-free and easily accessible on Google Play. The smartphone app is available for download right away, and users may use it to follow their buses in real-time and, in some locations, to purchase bus passes and tickets.
Chalo – Industry
In Mumbai, India’s top bus transportation technology provider is Chalo (previously Zophop). Over 15,000 buses may be tracked live using the Chalo App. On its platform, Chalo powered 100 million rides in January 2022. One of India’s most popular bus travel cards is the contactless Chalo Card, which allows users to make their way to payment. Chalo also sells items like mobile bus passes and mobile tickets, which can be purchased through the Chalo Card and the Chalo App. Chalo collaborates with bus companies to implement this technology and enhance the bus-riding experience. Both iOS and Android users can download the software.
Chalo – Founder and Team
Chalo was founded by Mohit Dubey, Priya Singh, Dhruv Chopra, Vinayak Bhavnani, and Nikhil Aggarwal. While the other founding members of Chalo are still on the team, Nikhil left the company in October 2019 as the COO and Co-founder. CarWale and BikeWale, India’s top car and bike sites, were created by Mohit, Priya, and Dhruv in the past. The trio decided to discover a solution because, like any other urban Indian, they were troubled by the turmoil and congestion on the roads of Indian cities brought on by the growing number of private vehicles. In 2014, Mohit met Vinayak, a software developer from IIT Delhi with similar interests.
Chalo – Startup Story
While snarling up in city traffic is irritating, it is a reality for most Indians. Moving throughout the city has become difficult due to the excessive traffic becoming a bothersome problem every day. The rise in private vehicles primarily causes the city’s congested roads. Mohit, Priya, Dhruv, and Vinayak, the co-founders of Chalo, held numerous discussions about these concerns and concluded that well-developed public transportation systems may be very helpful in resolving the issue.
The Chalo Co-Founders discovered via their research that buses are the most popular means of public transportation in India (representing 48 percent of all trips) and have the most potential for improvement. Local bus services are available in nearly every city and span the entire city, unlike intracity train and metro capabilities, which are only provided in a few Indian towns (with a small footprint). However, due to unreliable and ineffective bus networks, more individuals choose private autos than buses. The team recognized a big opportunity to increase bus reliability and enhance the riding experience by employing technology.
Chalo – Mission and Vision
Chalo’s primary goal is to improve travel for everyone because we think that by doing so, our cities, our health, and our lives would all be better off.
Chalo – Name, Tagline, and Logo
The startup’s primary goal of “making travel easy for everyone” is where the name “Chalo” derives from.
Chalo – Business Model
Chalo collaborates with buses and their operators to assist customers or end users. Therefore, it uses the B2B model to the end-users advantage, eliminating their wait times. Chalo offers live tracking, payment systems, and operational services without requiring any initial outlay from bus operators. This means Chalo is responsible for paying the total capital expenditure (capex) and initial investment (II) costs associated with hardware like GPS devices, electronic ticketing machines, and making cards accessible. By working with bus companies to boost ridership and charging the companies a portion of the additional ridership, Chalo creates a situation where everyone benefits.
Chalo – Revenue Model
Until now, Chalo has raised a total of $60.9 million. On April 5, 2022, Lightrock led the company’s most recent $13.9 million funding round. The $40 million Series C fundraising round Chalo received before this was completed on October 5, 2021. Along with other current investors, including Raine Venture Partners, WalterBridge Ventures, and others, Lightrock India and Filter Capital led this fundraising round.
Chalo had previously received $7 million in Series B funding from Raine Venture Partners on January 13, 2021. As of July 11, 2022, Chalo is valued at $365 million and hopes to reach a valuation of around $800 million. With the most recent funding, Chalo plans to improve its technologies, strengthen its position in India, and broaden its business activities globally.
| Date | Stage | Amount | Investors/Shareholders |
| April 5, 2022 | Venture Round | $13.9 mn | Lightrock |
| October 5, 2021 | Series C | $40 mn | Filter Capital, Lightrock |
| January 13, 2021 | Venture Round | $7 mn | Raine Ventures |
| January 1, 2019 | Seed Round | – | Trifecta |
| May 27, 2018 | Seed Round | – | – |
| October 16, 2017 | Seed Round | – | – |
Chalo’s first break came in 2017 when the biggest bus company in Indore installed Chalo’s GPS devices on its buses, allowing app users to track those vehicles in real-time. The fact that this still did not represent all of the city’s buses meant that not every bus rider could benefit from it.
Bhopal became the first city to provide the Chalo App with live bus tracking for all its buses in May 2018. Once the service was announced at a press conference, word quickly spread among bus passengers, and within the first month, 25% of bus passengers in Bhopal were using the Chalo App to track their buses in real time. The Chalo App has been downloaded by almost all Bhopal bus riders with smartphones today.
Chalo – Products and Services
Chalo Cards
An NFC touch-to-pay card that can hold several tickets and a wallet (e.g., monthly pass). In the era of COVID-19, contactless payments boost safety by 20 times, so carrying change is no longer a nuisance. Chalo increased its focus on introducing contactless bus payments, eliminating 95% of the danger and increasing bus safety by 20 times. Additionally, Chalo has unveiled the first “100% trace and contact” system for public transportation worldwide, which logs all trips across the network, permits reverse contact tracing, and guarantees that all passengers can be reached.
Chalo Mobile Bus Passes
Users can purchase bus passes or tickets through the Chalo app and then use their QR code to scan for transportation. For the thousands of students and other travelers who rely on bus passes, they won’t need to visit the pass counter again. The fact that there is no interaction with or exchange of money with the conductor increases safety.
Chalo Tickets
Chalo provides its customers with a cutting-edge option that allows them to purchase their tickets in advance and just activate them before their trip.
Chalo Super Saver
Chalo offers adaptable prepaid plans through Chalo Super Saver that enable consumers to make significant travel savings with their Chalo card and Chalo app.
Chalo – Funding and Investors
In FY21, Chalo reported operational revenue of Rs 27.63 crore compared to FY20’s figure of Rs 27.43 crore. During FY21, it experienced no increase. Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that the Chalo losses were also drastically cut by about 42% to become Rs 33 crore in FY21.
Chalo – Employees
At Chalo in India, between 201 and 500 persons are employed.
Chalo – Challenges Faced
The Chalo team has a monumental task of making bus travel hassle-free, which involves managing numerous aspects in addition to just one. When Chalo’s live tracking services were first introduced in Indore, they dramatically cut down on the amount of time people had to wait at bus stops, but after a few months, the team realized that this was only a portion of the issue. Factors like enhancing network stability and ensuring buses were kept cleaner were equally crucial.
Further investigation revealed a few underlying problems with the administration of bus systems. With a few exceptions, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, where a single operator oversees all city lines, most other cities auction out their bus routes to private bus companies.
Chalo – Acquisitions
On October 26, 2021, Chalo bought Shuttle for an unknown sum, marking the first acquisition the business has ever made. On November 13, 2021, rumors from sources near the transaction said that Chalo would buy Vogo in an all-stock deal. On March 28, 2021, the purchase materialized as planned. A share swap agreement was used to acquire the two-wheeler rental startup. The Vogo acquisition is anticipated to strengthen the business by providing first- and last-mile ride services at significant bus stops and other public locations.
Chalo – Growth
The overall amount spent on the shared commute in 2019 (including buses, cars, trains, cabs, and other means of transportation) was estimated to be around $83 billion. Out of them, buses rank as the single most popular method of transportation; in India, intercity bus travel costs are estimated to be in excess of $35.5 billion. India has an enormous bus industry. India is one of the top 10 countries in the world for buses. According to statistics, India sells around 30,000 autos each year.
Chalo – Partners
There are no details of it.
Chalo – Competitors
ApniBus, PayCardo, and Zingbus are some of Chalo’s main rivals.
Chalo – Awards and Achievements
In 2017, Nasscom included Chalo as one of the Top 50 Startups in India.
Chalo – Future Plan
“Chalo” is working on several various fronts, including:
Live tracking, tap-to-pay cards, mobile ticketing and passes, and other cutting-edge technology are available to bus passengers.
Assuming responsibility for the full bus experience, including bus maintenance, crew training, timetable adherence, etc.
Modifying bus timetables and routes to accommodate a city’s changing physical layout.
To successfully realize this goal, Chalo collaborates with current bus companies and the many governmental organizations providing city transportation services, such as smart city SPVs, city transport SPVs, departments, road transport corporations, etc.
FAQs
What does Chalo do?
Chalo works with bus companies throughout the country to install technology in their vehicles that will enable them to operate their fleets more effectively, take digital payments onboard, and boost daily revenue through technology, as well as Chalo’s operational and marketing support.
When was Chalo founded?
It was established in 2014.
Who is the founder of Chalo Corporation?
With the exception of Nikhil, who departed the firm in October 2019, Chalo has four of its original founding members. The original members were Mohit Dubey, Priya Singh Dubey, Dhruv Chopra, Vinayak Bhavnani, and Nikhil Aggarwal.
Who is the CEO of Chalo Corporation?
The CEO is Mohit Dubey.
Who are the main competitors of Chalo?
Chalo’s main rivals are ApniBus, PayCardo, and Zingbus.
Conclusion
The CTO and co-founder of Chalo, Vogo, discussed the company’s future objectives and how this purchase will help it achieve its strategic goals. Now that we can provide a practical and affordable alternative to the everyday door-to-door trip, bus riders will have a way to get to and from bus stations. This will boost bus usage and further our goal of making transportation more dependable and convenient.
