Why people leave redBus
- App bloat. Trains, hotels, metro tickets, and rail-side products keep arriving inside what started as a bus app. Users who only book buses notice the cold-start time and clutter.
- Dynamic service fees. The displayed fare is competitive, but cumulative payment gateway and platform fees vary at checkout depending on operator and route.
- Inconsistent operator coverage. Some private operators are listed only on their own apps or on AbhiBus, especially in southern and western India.
- Aggressive notifications. Promotional pushes for trains, hotels, and metro arrive at high volume relative to actual booking confirmations.
- Refund predictability. Cancellations are processed correctly, but speed varies between operators, which is the most common Trustpilot and Reddit complaint.
If any of that pushes you to compare, here are 7 redBus alternatives worth installing.
Which app should you choose?
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AbhiBus if you want the highest-rated dedicated bus app. 4.8 rating and ixigo group ownership.
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ixigo if you want bus, train, flight, and hotel in one app. The same group as AbhiBus, broader scope.
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MakeMyTrip if you book buses alongside other travel modes. Travel super-app with a strong loyalty program.
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Goibibo if you already use the MakeMyTrip group ecosystem. Often shows different cashback offers on the same routes.
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Chalo if city bus tracking and pass purchase matter more than intercity booking. Live tracking for state and city buses.
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Yatra if you book buses through a corporate or business travel account. Best B2B integration.
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EaseMyTrip if convenience fees matter most. Published fee structure undercuts redBus on many routes.
Stay on redBus if you want the broadest aggregate operator coverage and the largest single inventory of state and private operators in one place. The breadth advantage is real, especially for less-trafficked routes.
Comparison table
| App | Best for | Service fees | Live tracking | Coverage | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AbhiBus | Dedicated bus | Competitive | Yes | India-wide | 4.8 |
| ixigo | Bus + trains + flights | Yes | Yes | India + few intl | 4.8 |
| MakeMyTrip | Multi-mode travel | Yes | Yes | India + intl | 4.5 |
| Goibibo | Hotel + bus combo | Yes | Yes | India + intl | 4.5 |
| Chalo | City bus tracking | Pass-based | Yes (city) | 50+ cities | 4.4 |
| Yatra | Corporate travel | Yes | Yes | India + intl | 4.3 |
| EaseMyTrip | Lower fees | Lower | Yes | India + intl | 4.5 |
1. AbhiBus — highest-rated dedicated bus app
AbhiBus is the IRCTC group bus app under the ixigo umbrella, with a 4.8 user rating and an explicitly bus-focused interface. The operator inventory covers MSRTC, GSRTC, APSRTC, TSRTC, KSRTC, HRTC, RSRTC, UPSRTC, OSRTC, plus 6,200 plus private operators including Chalo Bus, Flixbus, Zingbus, VRL, NueGo electric, Orange, IntrCity SmartBus, and SVKDT. The app also handles ConfirmTkt train booking and ixigo flights as secondary features.
Core advantages over redBus: faster cold start, cleaner filters, real-time bus tracking on supported operators, women safety seat selection, and a 100 percent on-time refund guarantee on Abhi Assured buses. The trade-off is that some private operators on edge routes still appear only on redBus.
Advantages:
- 4.8 user rating
- Bus-first interface, less clutter than redBus
- Live tracking and Abhi Assured on-time refund
- Free cancellation on selected fares
Disadvantages:
- Edge-route private operator coverage thinner than redBus
- Some payment offers tied to ixigo group cards
- Marketing pushes for trains and flights
Pricing: Free, with operator-set fares and standard payment fees.
2. ixigo — bus inside a travel super-app
ixigo’s flagship travel app handles flights, hotels, and buses under one account. Bus inventory is the same source as AbhiBus (same group ownership), so coverage is broad and offers carry over. The reason to pick ixigo over AbhiBus is account consolidation: if you already use ixigo for flights and hotels, the bus feature inherits the same wallet, the same loyalty layer, and the same Assured Flex cancellation flow.
The reason to pick AbhiBus instead is single-purpose focus. ixigo’s home screen surfaces flights and hotels first, so the bus flow takes one extra tap and one extra promotional surface.
Advantages:
- Single account across buses, flights, hotels
- Same bus inventory as AbhiBus
- Assured Flex full-refund add-on
- 4.8 user rating
Disadvantages:
- Bus flow is one tap deeper than AbhiBus
- More promotional surfaces for non-bus products
- Convenience fees stack with payment gateway fees
Pricing: Free, with convenience fees on bookings.
3. MakeMyTrip — multi-mode travel super-app
MakeMyTrip ships bus booking alongside trains, flights, hotels, holidays, and cabs. Inventory covers APSRTC, UPSRTC, GSRTC, HRTC, PRTC, MSRTC, plus the major private operators. The strength here is the loyalty and offer ecosystem: HDFC, AU, RBL credit card discounts, MMT Black tier benefits, and shared rewards across all bookings.
For users who genuinely book travel across modes monthly, MakeMyTrip’s cumulative loyalty value can outweigh per-booking fee differences. For pure bus booking, AbhiBus or redBus are tighter.
Advantages:
- Buses, trains, flights, hotels, cabs in one app
- Strong loyalty and bank card offers
- 24x7 customer support
- Live tracking on selected operators
Disadvantages:
- Bus is one tab among many, slower flow
- Convenience fees comparable to redBus
- Marketing pushes for adjacent products
Pricing: Free, with convenience fees and loyalty system.
4. Goibibo — different offers, same group
Goibibo is part of the MakeMyTrip group but runs as a separate brand with separate promotions. Bus inventory is similar to MMT, but the offers, cashback layers, and bank card discounts differ on a given day. Power users who book frequently keep both apps installed and compare prices on the same route, since the gap can be 50 to 200 rupees.
The interface is closer to MakeMyTrip than to redBus, with hotels surfacing prominently. Bus filters and seat maps are reasonable but less refined than the bus-first apps.
Advantages:
- Different offer rotation than MakeMyTrip
- Hotel and bus combo deals
- IRCTC authorised partner for trains
- 4.5 rating
Disadvantages:
- Bus flow not bus-first
- Customer support quality varies by region
- Convenience fees comparable to redBus
Pricing: Free, with convenience fees and varying offers.
5. Chalo — city bus tracking and passes
Chalo solves a different problem from redBus. Where redBus and AbhiBus focus on intercity coach bookings, Chalo handles city bus passes, live bus tracking on regular city routes, and digital ticketing with QR codes. Coverage spans 50 plus Indian cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Indore, and Bhopal.
If your daily commute uses BEST, BMTC, or similar state transport corporations, Chalo is the right tool. For Bangalore to Hyderabad overnight Volvo bookings, redBus or AbhiBus remain the right tools.
Advantages:
- Live tracking for city bus routes
- Digital monthly and weekly passes
- QR ticket support in 50 plus cities
- 4.4 rating
Disadvantages:
- No long-distance intercity bookings
- City coverage varies in quality
- Limited operator partnerships outside India
Pricing: Free, with pass and ticket fares.
6. Yatra — best for corporate travel
Yatra has the strongest B2B travel infrastructure in India and runs a separate Yatra for Business product specifically for corporate travel desks. Bus booking inside the consumer app is competent but the product-market fit is companies that need centralised travel reporting, GST invoices, and approval workflows.
For solo travelers, redBus and AbhiBus offer better discounts and slicker bus flows. For travelers booking through company accounts, Yatra integrates with HR and finance systems in ways consumer apps do not.
Advantages:
- Strong corporate travel features
- GST invoices and central billing
- Trains, flights, hotels, buses in one app
- Stable refund track record
Disadvantages:
- Consumer offers thinner than redBus
- Bus flow not bus-first
- Smaller user base for crowd-sourced reviews
Pricing: Free, with convenience fees and corporate plans.
7. EaseMyTrip — lower convenience fees
EaseMyTrip publishes lower convenience fees than the headline competitors and applies the same logic to bus bookings as to flights. The app supports buses, trains, flights, hotels, and holidays under one account. Operator inventory is narrower than redBus on edge routes but covers all major state RTCs and the popular private fleets.
The reason to install EaseMyTrip is fee transparency. The reason not to is feature density: the app does less of the live tracking and seat-quality scoring that AbhiBus and ixigo emphasise.
Advantages:
- Published convenience fee lower than competitors
- Buses, trains, flights, hotels in one app
- Stable refund track record
- 4.5 rating
Disadvantages:
- Edge-route operator coverage thinner than redBus
- Less developed live tracking
- Smaller user base for cashback offers
Pricing: Free, with lower convenience fees.
