Bus ticketing metasearch company Busbud says today that it has closed a $1 million (CAN) round of financing, which includes Peter Kern, an Expedia board member, and Real Ventures, a Montreal seed venture fund, among its investors.
The first round of financing was co-led by Canadian funds iNovia Capital and Real Ventures. Peter Kern, managing partner of NYC private equity firm InterMedia Partners, and Joe Poulin, CEO of Luxury Retreats, participated in the round.
The Montreal startup says it offers at least some bus ticketing in more than 4,000 cities in 66 countries -- which is far, far broader coverage than North-American-fixated rivals Wanderu, Bustripping and Buscatchers provide.
But it still has a lot of coverage gaps to fill. For instance, London to Paris routes operated by Megabus, Eurolines, and iDbus don't yet show up in searches on the site.
CEO Louis-Philippe "LP" Maurice is a Harvard biz-school grad who says he got the idea for the startup while touring South-America and was frustrated by the lack of online info on bus routes, schedules and fares.
He co-founded Busbud in 2011 with friends Michael Gradek, a Microsoft Bing veteran, and Frederic Thouin.
Says the company:
As part of the deal, VCs David Nault (iNovia Capital) and JS Cournoyer (Real Ventures) are joining as board members, while Chris Arsenault, Managing Partner of iNovia Capital, joins Sylvain Langis, 25-year bus industry veteran and founder of Canadian intercity bus leader Orleans Express, on Busbud's advisory board.