IndiGo woes trigger spike in bus bookings and fares; Hyderabad, Bengaluru lead demand surge

Bengaluru airport

For Suresh Pillai, celebrity chef behind several Kerala cuisine chains, a December 6 work trip to Bengaluru turned unexpectedly eventful. Flying from Kochi with plans to return on a 10 pm IndiGo flight the same day, he learnt it had been cancelled.

Needing to reach Kochi the next morning, he grabbed the last available seat on a bus and rushed to Madiwala in Bengaluru just in time. “An hour into the journey, the bus driver upgraded me to an empty front seat, a pleasant surprise on my first long-distance bus ride in years. After a sound night’s sleep, I reached Vyttila in Kochi by 7am,” Pillai, who took an inter-city bus for the first time in years, wrote on Facebook.

Suresh Pillai, a celebrity chef, who recently took a bus for a work trip after his IndGo flight was cacelled.

Also, read: IndiGo to offer travel vouchers worth Rs 10,000 to passengers affected by flight disruptions

He was not alone. Following the nationwide cancellation of thousands of IndiGo flights due to tighter DGCA safety regulations, many last-minute passengers turned to buses. With flights cancelled and train tickets unavailable, last-minute travellers relied heavily on sleeper buses. This surge in demand has driven bookings for intercity AC buses up, alongside fare increases by operators.

Prasanna Patwardhan, president of Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India, told Moneycontrol: “Peak demand is usually from Friday to Sunday, but IndiGo cancellations triggered massive demand between metro cities. With the holiday and wedding season already on, both demand and fares went up.”

“Metro-to-metro routes saw an abnormal spike. Many people who hadn’t travelled by bus in years had no choice but to return to buses during the crisis.  Some operators have hiked fares unnecessarily. Prices normally rise up to double during peak times, but anything beyond that is unfair- and this time, fares have gone up to three times the normal rate. In routes like Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Mumbai, and Mumbai-Bengaluru, travelers were the worst hit, with some fares reaching Rs 7,000-Rs 9,000," he said.

Also, read: Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | IndiGo’s turbulence is a wake-up call for India’s aviation industry

Spike in bookings on major routes

Redbus data comparing December 1-4 and December 5-8, show a 17 percent rise in bus seat bookings during the period. The largest impact was seen on major intercity routes connecting metros, including Pune-Hyderabad, Mumbai-Hyderabad, and Mumbai-Bengaluru. Some high-demand routes saw a 30 percent increase in seat bookings, particularly Hyderabad-Mumbai-Hyderabad, Chennai-Hyderabad-Chennai, Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Nagpur-Mumbai, Ahmedabad-Pune, and Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad.

“Regions such as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are showing the highest demand for buses on these routes,” a redBus spokesperson told Moneycontrol.

While redBus says it does not set bus fares, operators have increased prices in response to rising demand. On average, there has been a 25 percent growth in average selling price across affected routes. The spokesperson added: “Buses are a flexible mode of transport, making it easier to deploy inventory on high-demand routes. We have seen a spike in search volumes and operators adding inventory over the last week.”

Other platforms see similar trends

ixigo's bus aggregator platform AbhiBus reported an increase in bus bookings by 10-15 percent across major routes, including Pune-Hyderabad, Lucknow-Delhi, Bengaluru-Chennai, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, and Hyderabad-Mumbai.

Its Chief Operating Officer (COO), Rohit Sharma said, “In light of recent disruptions, many travellers are seeking alternate modes for urgent, last-minute intercity travel." ixigo's, Group CEO & co-founder, Aloke Bajpai pointed to capacity shortfalls driving airfares during the peak travel season ahead of Christmas and New Year. He noted that the high air fares are pushing passengers toward trains and buses.

Bus operators are also increasing their fleet. Manoj Soni, CEO, YoloBus and EasyGreenMobility said that fleet deployment increased by 20 percent on high-demand corridors like Varanasi-Delhi, Lucknow-Delhi, Pune-Hyderabad). Soni said they have also introduced four new non-stop services to connect major metro and Tier-2 cities.

YoloBus recorded 35-40 percent increase in passenger volume on key routes like Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Pune-Hyderabad, Delhi-Lucknow). "Last-minute bookings (within 48 hours) are up 45 percent," Soni said.

Group bookings on routes like Dehradun-Delhi, Hyderabad-Bengaluru are up 25 percent, he added.

Also, read: December Rush: Why IndiGo’s cancellations are a disaster for India’s aviation sector