Shenzhen-based DuduBus has completed its A round financing and has raised RMB52 million.
Launched in April 2015, DuduBus first obtained funding of RMB12 million in the June pre-A round financing from Plum Ventures and K2VC. DuduBus’s CEO Yixun Liu said the company is currently operating in major cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing offering services such as shuttle buses for workers, excursions, airport express services and inter-city passenger services. Its platform has accumulated 500,000 users.
Mr Liu said the work shuttle route first launched in Shenzhen in April mainly covers the CBD area and is 83% full on average. As the route covers mainly community users, it maintains a high retention rate.
Mr Liu said that value-added services have been introduced for work shuttles, such as breakfast, newspaper, WiFi, dedicated seats for pregnant passengers, first-aid kit and raincoat on board. Such services differentiate it from regular public transportation.
With the latest funding, Mr Liu said DuduBus will explore extending bus services to excursions and inter-city travel as well as airport express service. The company will also speed up expansion to other cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuhan, and at the same time consolidate its human resources and operational capabilities.
Other players in the bus market are Didi Bus, Hollo, Xiaozhu Bus and Dada Bus. In July, Didi Taxi embarked on bus-sharing, and on September 11, Didi subsumed Kaola Shuttle under its brand.(Translation by Shuk)
