India’s intercity bus sector transported 140 million passengers between April and September 2025, recording a 25% year-on-year growth, according to the latest redBus BusTrack Report. During this period, ticketing value reached ₹132 billion across more than 6,000 active private bus operators.
The report, which analyzes data from redBus’ platform across the entire Indian intercity bus network, highlights that sleeper and hybrid buses accounted for 85% of all journeys, while AC services made up 71% of seats sold during the six-month period, reflecting strong passenger preference for comfort and convenience.
Network Expansion & Route Connectivity
Over 670,000 unique routes connected more than 11,000 towns during the period. Nearly 65% of all routes stretched beyond 250 kilometres, indicating a shift toward longer, cross-regional journeys.
PAN India, 76% of seats on intercity buses were occupied during the period. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recorded the highest seat fill rate at 84%, while Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh saw lower utilisation at 63%.
Regional Distribution
Maharashtra and Goa led with 16% of total seat bookings, followed by Tamil Nadu at 15%, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at 12%, and Karnataka at 11%. Maharashtra recorded an average seat price of ₹1,066, higher than the pan-India average, with 67% of travel being intrastate. The state showed a bus occupancy rate of 79%.
Passenger Demographics & Booking Patterns
Based on redBus bookings, travellers aged 18-36 years formed the largest segment, accounting for nearly two-thirds of total bookings. Male passengers represented 65% of all travellers.
Non-metro regions drove growth, with 61% of total bookings originating from smaller cities and towns. India’s top six metros accounted for 33% of bookings, while other state capitals contributed 6%.
“The market has grown significantly to 140 million seats sold in April-September this year, compared to 112 million seats sold last year, a solid 25% growth number. This growth has come on the back of existing bus operators adding inventory, new operators starting businesses on traditional routes and digitisation of inventory in long tail and new routes. There has been a big jump in the number of private bus operators coming online, which has led to a significant expansion in the network base in both towns connected as well as unique bus routes. We also see a clear shift in the preference towards AC buses.” said Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus.
“In this edition of BusTrack, we have moved from a quarterly to semi-annual format, covering the seasonally lower activity quarter of April-June and the quarter of comparatively higher activity, namely July-September.” Sangam added.
