FreshBus, a startup for electric buses based in Bangalore, has received Rs 26 crore in early funding from ixigo (Le Travenues Technology Limited). The company hopes to use this to introduce upscale inter-city electric bus services throughout India.

With the introduction of 24 electric buses, the service would start at the same time from Hyderabad and Bengaluru. By March, the operational routes would be disclosed.

In the next two to three years, the electric bus company wants to expand its operations to over 1000 buses across all of India. Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, who had previously created bus aggregator Abhibus, founded the company (acquired by ixigo in August 2021).

"We will provide a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to the predominately fossil fuel-powered buses that currently make up intercity public transportation.

In a year, a single FreshBus will save more than 90,000 litres of diesel and about 200 tonnes of CO2 emissions. According to the founder, that is the same as the environmental impact of over 10,000 trees.