Cityflo Raises INR 57 Cr In Series A Round Led By Lightbox Ventures The startup will utilize the fresh capital to scale its operations in Mumbai

Mumbai-based Cityflo, an app-based bus service provider for corporate professionals, on Wednesday announced that it has raised INR 57 crores in Series A round led by Lightbox Ventures. India Quotient, which had invested a seed amount of INR 3 crore into Cityflo last year, also participated in the round along with other angel investors.

The 2015-founded startup will utilize the fresh capital to enhance its offerings beyond industry standards, expand services on the current and new routes and strengthen its position as a daily commute brand for the city's working professionals. The startup also claims to upskill drivers with regard to customer service etiquette, soft skills and grooming, among other aspects. They will also be launching a facility soon where bus drivers can park their buses at the end of the day, rest and recuperate.

Commenting on the development, Jerin Venad, co-founder, Cityflo, said, "Cityflo was founded with the vision of solving the problem of long and stressful office commutes for professionals in our cities. Our goal was to offer a commute option that is convenient, comfortable, and seamless. This means passengers can catch up on their work, sleep, or a Netflix series that was left in the middle. The pandemic has further underscored how essential it is to bring this kind of an offering to people. We plan to invest the proceeds from our Series A funding to upgrade our operations, increase our presence across heavy traffic routes in Mumbai and grow Cityflo into a go-to brand for office commute."

The startup founded by Venad and his friends from IIT-Bombay provides a commute through Mumbai traffic. The startup currently connects residential areas in Mumbai like the Western suburbs, Navi Mumbai and Thane, to major commercial hubs in the city. It has also expanded its operation to Lower Parel, Andheri, BKC and Colaba.

Commenting on the investment, Siddharth Talwar, partner, Lightbox Ventures, said, "The public transport system in India is broken and overstressed. For those who drive their cars to work, the problem is compounded by traffic and long travel time. The pandemic has made the situation more delicate with heightened apprehensions around safety, hygiene, and sanitisation. This segment therefore has the potential to scale up and become the next big thing. Cityflo holds a lot of promise as a brand for the working professionals who fight traffic for hours on end every day and incur costs in terms of time."

The startup currently partners with bus operators and is now working with a total of 160 buses and provides dedicated employee transport to essential service companies in the post-pandemic environment.