When it comes to tourism, few places are quite as coveted as South-East Asia. From endless pictures of Bali vacations during the summer or first-hand accounts of visiting Lake Toba, the region has carved out a niche for itself among tourists and thrill-seekers.
However, despite the popularity of the region, there is still a large gap that exists in the market; transportation. In this case, the issue with transportation is not getting to these destinations by air, which is already taken care of by the global airline sector. The gap is the internal navigation of these places by tourists, especially those who are very unfamiliar with them.
The Challenge of Navigating a Tourist Destination
When the discussion of tourism comes up, most of the travel discussed is with regards to air travel required to get into a foreign country. However, not a lot is said about navigating domestic travel within the country upon arrival. This aspect often possess just as many if not more problems than international flights.
First, there is the issue of a language barrier, especially considering how much of the tourism influx to South-East Asia is from the West, where local languages are not commonly spoken. This singular feature can make the entire journey even more difficult as tourists have to deal with locals, transport workers, and directions to various places.
There is also the issue of transport safety. Entire documentaries have been created on the various scams and dangers that target tourists in popular destinations such as Bali and visitors have to be particularly cautious when trying to move around in a foreign environment. From hiked up prices for cabs to even kidnapping schemes, moving around as a non-local is not easy.
When tourists try to move around, they might also find it challenging to adequately pay for transportation in a foreign country. They might either have to exchange their home currency for the local one (which brings up the issue of trumped-up exchange rates and scams) or make use of bank cards which might come with high cross-border fees. On top of this, some tourists might not even feel safe making use of their bank cards in a foreign country.
Finally, there is the obvious problem of getting lost when moving around. This happens even in one’s home country but the probability of it happening abroad is much higher.
How Bussr is Solving the Problem
Addressing this gap in the market, an innovative company called Bussr is offering tourists and locals the ability to travel across South-East Asia with greater flexibility and ease. Despite being in the market for only two years, Bussr experienced founders Hussein Abdelkarim, former Rocket Internet co-founder, and IM Shousha, an IT specialist, have amassed over 100,000 customers and operations in over 90 cities.
The business model that Bussr operates with is connecting a wide variety of destinations and making sure that customers can access transport facilities at any time. In terms of safety, Busser has a network of over 500 million riders in six countries who are all registered on the database. This means that anytime a customer books transport with the app, their rider’s details are known, ensuring greater safety.
When it is time to pay for the ride in question, the payments are made securely on the platform. It ensures that tourists are not overcharged for their payments or scammed. The app interface also analyses information from a variety of sources including public transit operators, authorities, and the user community. This helps to determine the best route for a user to take to reach their destination in terms of travel time as well as price.
The use of the app is also not limited to ride-sharing, unlike traditional apps like Lyft and Uber. Instead, it can be used to book ride-sharing, public transport, buses, and so on. Whether a user is traveling by themselves into town or taking a long-distance road trip with a group of people, they can turn to Bussr.
In the modern world of sustainability, Bussr helps users be more environmentally-conscious by creating a ticketless travel experience. This is because the Bussr app is available on both iOS and Android devices and utilizes AI technology and various analytics to achieve its goals.
Beyond the benefit to tourists, Bussr is also helping to properly map out roads and destinations in the countries that it operates. Users are encouraged to track and map locations that are not yet on the interface and this means that otherwise unmapped locations can be added and receive necessary transport services.
Companies and schools are also able to make use of the Bussr app for their various employees and students. This ensures a level of organization when it comes to movement and provides efficient transport as a whole. While the journey of a tourist in an unfamiliar location can be perilous at times, resources like Bussr can ensure that their domestic transportation can be safe, efficient, and convenient.
This is a Contributor Post. Opinions expressed here are opinions of the Contributor. Influencive does not endorse or review brands mentioned; does not and cannot investigate relationships with brands, products, and people mentioned and is up to the Contributor to disclose. Contributors, amongst other accounts and articles may be professional fee-based.