The travel and tour industry is not what it used to be, where a customer had to contact middlemen for ticket bookings and get updates, thanks to the bus ticket booking apps like RedBus. These apps have massively increased the demands of online ticket bookings, coming out as a profitable business opportunity for a lot of entrepreneurs who are constantly looking for mobile app development company in India to meet the growing demands
But the thing is that not everyone comes from a technical background, which is why they need a proper guide on designing and developing a bus ticket booking app like RedBus. So, here it is. In this guide, you are going to find out everything related to building your dream booking app for mobile and web platforms.
What is a bus ticket booking app?
See a bus ticket booking app just like a digital platform, either on the web, mobile, or both, which eases the whole travelling experience for the users. It lets users search, book, and manage their bus journey without them standing in long queues, calling multiple agents for updates regarding their bus and seats, and the cancellation requests with countless interactions for the refund. With bus ticket booking apps, customers can easily perform all these steps with just a few taps.
[Prefer Reading: Ticket Booking – Benefits, Project Flow and Features]
Why is there a solid rise in the market for bus booking apps?
If you just look at the statistics, then bus tickets are going to generate around $1.18 billion this year itself, and in the coming 5 years, the growth is projected to be at 7.60%, where China is going to reach 5 billion in just this year. For the regions, the largest share of online bus tickets is in the USA, Canada, China, India, Australia, the UAE, and Brazil, suggesting that the growth is massive in nearly every region. The tickets on the mobile app remain the most used platform among the audience.
The rise is evident because there is constant demand for convenience among the users, which includes demanding bookings from home, receiving tickets in e-mode, checking all the bus options instantly and making long distances simple and safe. Then there are real-time notifications for the schedules, proper query addressal, and 24×7 customer support via chatbots and AI agents.
Not only the users but also businesses are getting the benefits, like having direct contact with customers, having proper analytics related to the buyer’s journey and an option to flexibly sell the targeted offers directly.
In case you are also planning to partner with a bespoke mobile apps development company to create a bus booking app, then you should go right away, as smartphones are on the rise, e-commerce is becoming accessible and startups can easily create a loyal user base with the power of technology. There are no restrictions on the customer support hours, and accessibility to people even in remote areas drives maximum opportunities.
Features that are important while creating an app like RedBus
Instead of listing the features endlessly, let us divide these features into four easy-to-understand headings talking about user-centric features, social, accessibility, and retention features, operator, driver, and admin features, and advanced emerging features.
User-centric features to have
Here we are talking about the features that make an app user-centric, starting with a clean interface, which is easy on design, and lets users search and book a bus ticket with minimum steps.
Filters and Seat selection
There should be proper call-to-action buttons for clear navigation and a logical flow of adoption that a user would require. Let the users search buses using filters like routes, date of their journey, bus types (AC/non-AC/sleeper/seater), budget or cost, and amenities (like Wi-Fi or charging ports are available). Also, deliver interactive seat selection map functionality where users can see occupied seats easily and choose the seats they want, which reduces double bookings and gives clear transparency to the users.
Payment methods and GPS
Users want diverse payment integrations like paying with their UPI wallets, net banking, and also cryptocurrencies, so you will need all of them for making your platform flexible, and do not forget to have PCI-compliant payment gateways for the best security, bringing more trust to your platform. The built-in GPS in buses will send the real-time location of buses right to the devices of your users so that they can check expected arrival and make timely boarding decisions without any wait times or travel anxiety.
Push Notifications
Further push notifications will automatically deliver timely booking confirmation, remind them to get ready before the departure, share delays at the earliest, and also allow you to send special offers to keep your customers engaged. For the best of digitalization, share tickets on SMS and emails and have QR codes, which users can show during the check-ins to support faster convenience, and using smart contracts from blockchain technology will end automatic refunds if there is any unexpected cancellation from the side of the bus agency. Customer support, chat calls, and AI bots will keep the support active round the clock for the smoothest user experience.
Social accessibility and retention features to have
Reviews and Ratings
The first feature to have here is the ratings and reviews, where users can post comments, pictures, and videos of their journey experience, which will also inspire others to take the service. You can also implement the refer-and-earn for organic app growth, and then multi-language and currency support will help people to travel safely with your application.
Accessibility
Don’t forget to make your application accessible to elders with large fonts, voice navigation, and other accessibility features because this group of people always looks for convenient options due to their health issues. You can start something more than Redbus, like sending taxis for the senior citizens or other kinds of special assistance to make their travel safer.
Operator, driver, and admin features to have
Route Optimization and Dashboard
Deliver the best route and bus management options with adjustable schedules and flexibility of document submission or registering buses with your platform. The admin panel must have a proper dashboard giving instant data related to the bookings, cancellations, occupancy rates, the location of users booking tickets, and the estimated revenue earned over a specified period of time. For the digital marketing part, you can show vouchers, promo codes, and loyalty points so that the business can go for targeted marketing.
Advance and emerging features to have
Personalization
These features will help you stay competitive in the market, starting with the custom recommendations so that every user gets just what they require, instead of unnecessary things they are not interested in. For example, if a user is not into deals and offers, your platform must understand it and show fewer deals and offers.
Real-time updates
Then the dynamic pricing with real-time updates will help users to plan their trip more effectively. Such advanced features require you to partner with mobile application development solutions in Dubai that can smoothly integrate AI functionalities and make your solution future-proof.
How to plan and validate your ticket booking app?
A lot of businesses want to jump directly in without focusing on the planning and idea validation part, but a successful bus ticket booking app demands careful planning, a thoughtful design, and proper validation of the idea to get into the market. It is because the competition is so strong, and to make an app like RedBus, you have to be strong with the foundation.
Explore Case Study: Bus Ticket Booking Platform Development for KaCyber
Plan and research
Come up with a clear vision of the problem you are trying to solve with questions like:
- Is it for commuters or tourists or for long-distance travellers?
- Why are there delays in bookings?
- Are there limited payment options?
- Are there any flaws in the user experience?
- Are users getting real-time updates?
- Should you go with android application development or iOS?
Once you get it right, make sure to define your app value properly with ultra-fast booking flow, the fastest cancellations, and rural area coverage, as they are must-haves in modern times.
For a better understanding, keep studying the competitors, analyse the top market players like RedBus and AbhiBus, and understand what features work best for them, what the user journey is like on these platforms, and what the strengths and weaknesses of these players are. Efficiently map the business model too; either you want to charge commissions, offer subscriptions, or just earn by displaying the ads on your application.
Validate Your Idea
Go for validating your idea without a prototype first by just talking to the users, start taking their interviews, and ask them what the most frustrating point is that they are facing with the existing bus ticket booking app. You can use Google Forms or SurveyMonkey, start with small in-person focus groups, present them with possible screen mock-ups of your app, explain your core features, and take possible feedback. Using social media can be a great way here, as you can post on city travel forums, Facebook groups, and more.
Design and develop your prototype
For the best validation of the idea, you can start with wireframe creation, having home, search results, seat map, payment booking system, and other key features. In case you want to do it on your own, you can take help from software like Figma or Adobe XD for a good interface visualization, but when you do it, take the speed and clarity of the application in mind.
You can also hire UI/UX specialists who will deliver you a clickable prototype or a minimum viable product that you can test with users. During the development of your prototype, attend regular scrum meetings with your mobile app development company to keep polishing your app idea.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for a Successful Ticket Booking App
There are a few common mistakes that you must avoid if you want to step towards success and not end up as an average startup.
- Poor booking accuracy: Check if your app has any of the wrong data (you can use AI automation for it), wrong pictures of the buses or paid reviews because users look for authentic platforms while booking a ticket for the bus.
- Ignoring mobile optimization: Androids have such a diverse ecosystem of devices and you have to make sure that your application does not look bad on any screen so ask your mobile app development company to go for the technologies that are standard. It is best to hire kotlin app developers and go with Kotlin technology for best mobile optimization.
- Overcomplicated UI: Sometimes we tend to focus overly on the user interface, filling it with a lot of features and functionalities, which frustrates a user and leads to quickest disbandment.
- Ignoring security: Payment handling and the security of the data are the most important elements today’s modern users want, so make sure that your application is free of leaks, handles payments smoothly, and eliminates any possible frauds.
Next Step- Partner with NetSet Software to build your ticket booking app.
Now that you are completely aware of everything that goes into creating a bus ticketing app, the next step is to partner with a mobile app development company like NetSet Software. The company has accomplished success with their right expertise and support to the clients, having a portfolio of scalable, secure, and some of the best user-centric mobile and web apps. You will get end-to-end development, fully custom solutions, seamless integration of advanced features like AI, and all of that after a proper consultation process that contains full blueprints of the success of your idea.
FAQs
What key features should I include in my app?
Focus on search and filter options, real-time seat availability map, fast and secure payments, live bus tracking, instant e-tickets, smooth cancellations, ratings, and support.
How can I validate my idea if it will be successful?
Conduct user research, surveys, and prototype testing, and launch an MVP to gather feedback before full development.
Which tech stack is best to create a bus ticket app like Redbus?
Hire react native developers India or Flutter for mobile, Node.js or Django for backend, and cloud services like AWS for hosting.
How much time will it take to get my app ready?
You can expect around 3 to 6 months to get your bus ticket app ready to deploy in the market.
Why partner with NetSet Software?
With nearly 2 decades of experience, they deliver end-to-end expert development, custom solutions, and ongoing support for app success.
