Spike in bus bookings during Dussehra, Diwali amid record Indians’ 'dil chahta hai' fetish for road trips

Bus travel booking saw significant spike during Dussehra and Diwali.

Dussehra and Diwali celebrations have not only lit up the skies with flight bookings showing an exponential rise this year, but long-distance buses have also recorded a strong uptick in demand during this festive season.

While bookings for air tickets registered a 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase during the 21-day festival period in 2024, as compared to 2023; bus booking rose nearly 25 per cent, data compiled by online travel platforms showed.

Online bus booking platform AbhiBus, which was acquired by travel technology firm Ixigo in 2021, recorded a 66 per cent YoY) increase in bus bookings in the five-to-six-day period leading up to Diwali last week and 64 per cent YoY increase in bus bookings during Dussehra, as compared to last year.

"This year, Diwali and Dussehra marked a record-breaking spike in bus bookings for us, as people across India took advantage of the festive break to travel far and wide," said Rohit Sharma, Chief Operating Officer (COO), AbhiBus.

"We saw a balanced mix of leisure and religious travel during this period. Many people headed to popular holiday destinations. While others went on pilgrimage during the Dussehra holidays," he added.

According to the platform, there was a split between leisure and religious travel during the Dussehra break . Destinations such as Ooty, Goa, Pondicherry, and Mangaluru remained popular among bus travellers, registering an 18 per cent rise in bookings over the past month.

Similarly, bus bookings to famous religious places for Hindus such as Tirupati and Shirdi surged by 25 per cent in weeks ahead of the Dussehra celebrations.

"Bus bookings for the festive period showed a steady increase, as compared to last year," said Manish Rathi, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), IntrCity SmartBus.

"While last year saw a significant surge, often referred to as 'revenge travel' following the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's growth is more sustainable. We recorded around 20 per cent YoY increase in bookings. The healthy figures reflected a welcome return to normalcy as far as the growth pattern in the travel industry is concerned," he added.

Rathi also highlighted the increase in inventory due to the rising demand in the bus travel segment.

"The festive season saw a substantial boost in bus availability for travellers, marking a significant improvement over the previous year. The bus fleet has seen a marked expansion, almost doubling in size, which had started coinciding with the conclusion of the Shraadh period (between September 17 and October 2)," Rathi said.

A comparative data showed that during last year's festive season around 250 buses were in operation and the corresponding figure went up to 380 vehicles this year.

"It's not just quantity, but the quality of service has also improved in a big way. Many of these new additions to the fleet are larger vehicles with increased passenger capacity, allowing for more comfortable and efficient travel options," Rathi added.

Top routes during Diwali

Alongside popular travel routes such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bengaluru, new travel hotspots showed strong growth in bus bookings.

Tier-II city destinations such as Indore and Jaipur saw the highest YoY increase in bus travel for Diwali at 277 and 224 per cent, respectively, according to data compiled by AbhiBus.

The other cities in tier-II category such as Pune and Bhubaneswar registered 111 and 107 per cent increase, respectively, in bus bookings.

Other destinations like Tirupathi recorded a 55 per cent rise in bus bookings along with Ahmedabad (45 per cent), Coimbatore (56 per cent), Guntur (41 per cent), and Rajahmundry  (66 per cent).

Metropolises such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai attracted most travellers, as many retuned to their hometowns or took leisure trips. Overall, south Indian cities showed a marked increase in bookings during Dussehra, said Rathi.

He predicted that Goa would see a similar craze for Christmas and New Year celebrations.

"Forward bookings for Christmas look promising, although bus travel is characterised by last-minute bookings. Typically, around 80 per cent of bookings are done in the final week before departure. However, we are observing increased searches for the Christmas-New Year period," he added.

High fares

This Diwali, flight fares were not all that exorbitant. The average spot economy fare on major domestic routes were down up to 30 per cent as compared to last year. But alternatively, bus fares on routes such as Pune, Nashik and Hyderabad rose by around three times. A similar trend was observed in other popular routes such as between Bengaluru and Mangaluru during Dussehra.

Bus travel trends

The steep increase in bus fares during festivals have led to advance bookings for bus travel, according to experts.

Rathi cited another growing trend in the bus travel segment. There has been an increase in extended trips, where travellers combine family visits with leisure travel. On several occasions, social visits were converted into extended vacations.

Besides, traditional festivals, bus travel demand is also being driven by entertainment and cultural events this year.

"Music concerts, in particular, have sparked a noticeable uptick in bookings. For example, the Diljit Dosanjh concert series has significantly contributed to increased travel in cities such as Lucknow, Indore, and Delhi. This highlights the growing role of cultural and entertainment events, such as music concerts and sporting spectacles, in influencing bus travel trends across the country," Rathi said.

He also cited that rising airfares have made buses a more affordable and viable option. To top it all, improved infrastructure and enhanced comfort of modern buses played a key role in attracting more passengers this festive season, he added.

Size of intercity bus travel 

The value of the intercity bus travel segment in financial year (FY) 2023 was estimated at Rs 53,900 crore, which is expected to reach Rs 80,200 crore by FY28, according to the data provided by Ixigo during the platform's investors' presentation.

At present, the segment's online penetration is at 19 per cent, and the corresponding figure is projected to rise to 28 per cent by FY28. Intercity bus travel is estimated to record the second-highest growth rate after air travel. The air travel segment is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 per cent. The corresponding estimated growth figures of bus and rail travel and hospitality sector are 8, 6 and 7 per cent, respectively, by FY28.

The growing bus travel segment is attracting attention of global players such as European intercity bus service FlixBus which launched in India earlier this year and entered into a partnership with AbhiBus in September to expand into smaller cities in southern parts of the country.

FlixBus started its India journey on key routes in the northern parts, before making a foray into the southern markets. The service is operational in major south Indian cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.