New Website & App to become the Search Engine for Buses

NEW YORK - May 16, 2013 - PRLog -- (New York, NY) – bustripping is about to bring the success of comparison travel shopping to buses, in an easy to use and free mobile app that will change the way people think about transportation.

The free service works similar to most comparison travel sites, allowing users to find cheap bus tickets (http://www.bustripping.com) on any operator. Users enter their trip information and then are shown a list of every bus (http://www.bustripping.com) that operates that route. The user then has the ability to sort results based on time, price, and company to find the best match.

“Over the past few years, long distance bus travel has outpaced both planes and trains as a mode of intercity travel,” bustripping CEO Ben Silverstein said. “However, unlike the airline industry which is dominated by a number major travel sites such as Kayak, Expedia, Orbitz and others, there is no one place where users can search and compare all bus lines side-by-side. bustripping is going to change that.”

After Silverstein struggled to find the best-priced bus when traveling to Boston to visit his college roommate and now bustripping’s CFO Jeff Mangano, Silverstein came up with the idea for bustripping.  He set out with the mission of creating the first comparison-shopping application for buses (http://www.bustripping.com), culminating in bustripping’s launch in May 2013.

Silverstein noted that consumers have more choices for traveling by bus (http://www.bustripping.com) than ever before. Large cities such as New York and Boston have a number of small lines that travel between each city’s Chinatown districts and are collectively referred to as “Chinatown buses.” These, along with curb-side operators like Megabus and Boltbus, and larger established brands such as Greyhound and Peter Pan, give travelers many options when considering bus travel.

In 2011 and 2012, long distance buses grew by seven percent and passengers on curb-side operators like Megabus and BoltBus grew by 30 percent, according to a study by DePaul university. According to the same study, in 2011 Greyhound added an additional 38 daily departures, while Megabus and BoltBus continued to add hubs. Long distance bus operators have grown year over year since 2006, and this trend is showing no signs of slowing.

“We’re not just starting a company, we’re changing an industry,” Silverstein noted.  He said that bustripping has ambitious goals for the future of bus travel in the U.S. and the launch of their website is the first step in achieving those goals.

According to Tech Crunch staff writer Rip Empson, travel search will likely become more and more popular on mobile devices.  A recent Nielsen study found that 50 percent of American's already own a smartphone. MyDestinations.com also released a survey that found that two-thirds of mobile users say they are likely to explore, shop, and book travel via their mobile device. These findings confirm that there are millions of Americans who will benefit from bustripping.

bustripping is celebrating the launch of their website at a party on the Gawker rooftop in SoHo, NYC. The event will include members of the media, as well as the many people who helped making bustripping possible. For questions about the event, reach out to ben@bustripping.com

About bustripping: bustripping was started in New York City by Ben Silverstein, a 2010 graduate from the College of Charleston.  He earned a degree in Business Administration from CofC, then moved to New York City where he started working in the digital advertising field. bustripping was started in 2011 and is launching for the public on May 22, 2013. More information can be found at www.bustripping.com