Shuttl is a bus aggregating platform offering shuttle bus services in five cities in North India. Launched in 2015 by Deepanshu
Malviya and Amit Singh, Shuttl now operates more than 500 buses across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida and
Faridabad. In the near term, the company is planning to expand into neighbouring cities like Ghaziabad and Manesar. Currently,
Shuttl has 150-160 employees.
The primary target of Shuttl is office-goers. Typically, the options available to office-goers in these cities are public transport
buses, auto-rickshaws, cabs, metro and private vehicles. If we compare these modes of transport, the public transport buses
charge Rs1-2 per km, auto-rickshaws charge Rs10-11 per km while cabs charge Rs15-20 per km. Driving one?s own vehicle is
expensive and also creates parking hassles. Car pooling has not taken off in India due to supply/demand constraints and safety
issues. Also, it is expensive. Shuttl has sensed that there is a significant gap in viable transport options in the Rs2/km to
Rs10/km range. With initiatives like the introduction of the odd-even rule in Delhi, the government is also keen on ensuring that
more commuters use public transport. A few million people ply the roads of Delhi NCR daily; hence there is considerable
opportunity for Shuttl.
How does Shuttl operate?
Shuttl does a lot of research about which routes to operate its shuttle services. The ultimate aim of the company in this regard is
to let customers decide the bus route as per their choice. After doing 800-900 rides per day in June 2015, Shuttl is now doing
~14,000 rides daily. Shuttl does not own any buses. The company has a three-year contract with various bus operators that
have underutilised capacity. The contract entitles Shuttl to use the bus for a specified time, on a specified route and for a
specified distance for an agreed rate. Even the drivers of the buses are not on Shuttl?s payroll. The company has entered into a
tie-up with Force Motors to provide buses at discounted rates to its vendors.
How do the economics work out?
Shuttl charges Rs3.5-4 per km per seat. ~50% occupancy is sufficient for Shuttl to generate profit. Shuttl is already profitable on
its mature routes.
