Rally Shows Continued Growth as Private Equity Owned Bus Companies Struggle

Leader in on-demand bus travel says recent bankruptcy of rival reflects failure of traditional business model and private equity approach

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 9, 2024 / Rally, the revolutionary Mass Mobility as a Service company, announces a strong financial position and rising bookings, in contrast with the performance of a rival bus company that filed bankruptcy in June.

Rally is the creator of the bus rideshare, with a unique strategy that disrupts legacy business models. The company does not own buses, but instead networks together thousands of small private bus operators via its technology platform, creating a marketplace that outperforms the competition while also creating business for bus operators.

Rally's event-based rideshare allows people to create or find crowdsourced bus trips to events like NFL and MLB games or major concerts. Its apps create pop-up bus stops around a venue, allowing individuals to book a ride from a nearby location and get round trip service to events. They have partnered with teams, ticketing companies, and event promoters to spread the word.

Rally's OurBus brand provides regular intercity bus service, competing with legacy bus companies by applying technology and business innovation. OurBus uses proprietary AI to forecast demand and schedule service through its network of private operators, connecting more than 150 stops in the Northeast United States and Canada.

Rally and OurBus recently announced that they have broken the 3-million-ride mark, allowing customers to attend hundreds of events in some 4,000 cities across 40 states and four countries. OurBus plans an international expansion.

Rally founder Numaan Akram said his company's success and the recent bankruptcy of a legacy bus company demonstrates the failing of private equity firms and traditional approaches to regional transportation.

"A bankruptcy is a terrible thing for the company and for its employees and customers, but we believe this is actually healthy for the industry, as an indicator of what business models can succeed," Akram said.

"Rally and OurBus are built on networking together thousands of small bus operators. We think that this virtual bus company is much more responsive to customer needs than any roll-up of operators backed by private equity."

Akram, who is also chief strategy officer at Rally, said other, larger bus companies have failed because of an outdated business model and not being nimble enough to cope with change.

"This industry is made up of thousands of small businesses that are healthy and thriving," he said. "Private equity has been unable to effectively consolidate this industry. Their simplistic approach to rolling up buses doesn't create economies of scale, and now they've put all these small operators in jeopardy."

While other bus companies struggled to restore ridership, Akram said, Rally's comparable OurBus intercity service was filling buses and receiving the highest average customer reviews in the sector:

• TripAdvisor: OurBus, 4.0

• TrustPilot: OurBus, 4.2

• Yelp: OurBus, 3.0

• Google MyBusiness: OurBus, 4.8

"Our success is based on our technology and marketplace principles: UX, demand prediction algorithms, and an assetless business model," Akram said. "Technology and customer experience are more important than anything, and the legacy incumbents are simply not able to keep up."

For more information, please visit Rally at https://rally.co and OurBus at https://ourbus.com.

About Rally
Rally is a bus rideshare company with a platform that creates on-demand bus trips across many U.S. cities, Canada, and other countries. Riders generate a trip or choose from one of the many crowdsourced trips. Whether for a concert, a sporting event or a festival, Rally unites passionate people, making the journey part of the event-day experience.

OurBus uses AI to create regularly scheduled intercity services, with more than 150 stops in the northeast United States and Canada with plans to expand internationally. The company competes with legacy incumbent bus companies on these routes by applying technology and business innovations to regional transportation.

Rally OurBus creates economic innovations to bring new business to local bus companies and promote a greener, safer form of travel. Its Mass Mobility as a Service combines technology and business model innovations in the bus industry. Rally is disrupting the mode of transportation that moves more people than any other. Its new intercity routes for regional transport and crowdfunding address surge demand travel by converting private car users to shared bus riders.

Contact Information

Buse Kayar
buse.kayar@issuerdirect.com

SOURCE: Rally

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