India-based ibiboGroup has acquired online bus tracking and analytics service provider YourBus for an undisclosed fee.
YourBus's system alerts (via SMS) bus passengers about the exact location of the bus and its current service, sends reports to bus operators about the location of bus and its estimated time of arrival.
The company performs this by installing a GPS device in every bus and integrating it with SMS services.
The company was founded in 2011 by Rajesh Mallipeddi and Satya Padmanabham.
YourBus will be integrating its service with redBus inventory of buses in India, and also with Goibibo, the India-based OTA operated by ibiboGroup.
Mallipeddi told Tnooz:
"We have a broad outline about integration, but road map is yet to be discussed."
Mallipeddi and his team at YourBus will be joining redBus, but Padmanabham will be pursuing his startup ZapStitch, a cloud data integration focused company.
In June 2013, redBus, India's biggest online bus reservation service was acquired by ibiboGroup for an undisclosed amount (though rumored at $138 million).
When asked Mallipeddi why YourBus chose to be acquired by ibiboGroup, but not with redBus-like services Travelyaari, Ticketgoose (secured $3 million funding recently), Mallipeddi says:
"We have already worked with redbus in the past for their mobile and website integration, and we have a good equation with them."
YourBus is part of the Pune-based startup accelerator The Morpheus. Other travel-related investments by Morpheus include PlanMy.Travel (TLabs here), and Padhaaro (TLabs here).