Mini-bus shuttle service Commut raises $200K from 50K Ventures

Mini-bus shuttle service startup, Commut, has raised $200,000 (approximately Rs 1.3 crore) from 50K Ventures, a Hyderabad-based investment platform to back technology startups at the idea and early-stage of their lifecycles.

Founded in November 2015 in Hyderabad, Commut provides high-frequency air-conditioned mini-bus shuttle services to employees across 50 routes in Hyderabad. 'Commut'ers can either book a ride on the Android app or the web app for iOS and Windows users.

"A majority of the funding will go into building the team, technology and expanding reach into the entire city. With this round of funding, we hope to reach over 2,500 rides per day in three months and more than 5,000 rides per day by the end of the year," said Commut co-founder Prasanth Garapati.

Commut claims to be clocking over 700 rides everyday and have served more than 35,000 rides with a fleet of 42 mini-bus shuttles in the last five months.

According to Redbus co-founder Sudhakar Pasupunuri, who is joining Commut's board, the company is filling the huge unserviced blankspot in urban transport by providing an organised transport solution for regular office commuters.

"Commut is solving office commute problem very effectively and doing a bit to save the environment by cutting down pollution, congestion and parking problems by getting more people in less number of vehicles," said Sanjay Enishetty, managing partner at 50K Ventures.

Commut co-founder Hemanth Jonnalagadda said an average urban dweller spends almost one-sixth of his life on the road and existing transport options were very cumbersome and exhaustive. "For the 30 per cent women IT employees in Hyderabad, it is also a question of safety," he added.