Chalo, a mobile app that helps users track buses across cities and book bus tickets online, said that it has got two-wheeler shared mobility company Vogo, in a significant consolidation move. A person aware of the matter said the the deal was a share-swap between the companies and does not involves any cash payout by Chalo to Vogo.
Chalo said Vogo will add to its bus technology facilities by offering first and last-mile rides at major bus stops and other public places. “This will enable crores of bus users to easily travel to and from bus stops, and further boost bus ridership as it becomes more convenient to take a bus,” said Chalo in a statement.
As a part of this acquisition, Vogo is switching to electric vehicles across its fleet and will expand beyond two-wheelers and offer other types of EVs to suit market needs, the company said in a statement. Backed by investors like Matrix Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, Ola, Vogo will remain to be known by the same brand name. Its
founders Anand Ayyadurai and Padmanabhan Balakrishnan, and the rest of the Vogo team will move to Chalo. So far, the company has mopped up $180 million, as per as per data sourced from Tracxn.
Ayyadurai will step into a new leadership role at the Chalo group; Padmanabhan, previously Vogo’s chief operating officer, will now serve as the chief executive officer; Abhimanyu Goyal, who was vice-president- engineering, will now be elevated to chief technology officer; and Sharath Parameswaran, vice-president- operations and growth, will be chosen as the chief business officer of Vogo, Chalo said.
“ This acquisition offers Chalo key strategic gains,” said Vinayak Bhavnani, co-founder and chief technology officer, Chalo. “ Now we will be able to offer a convenient and cost-effective option for bus passengers to travel to and from bus stops, solving the door-to-door daily commute. This will upsurge bus ridership and serves our core purpose of making travel more convenient and reliable for all.”
“Given our shared DNA and values, we are pleased to join forces with the Chalo team,” Padmanabhan Balakrishnan, co-founder and chief executive officer, Vogo. “We have a joint vision of solving the daily commute. Vogo democratised access to transport, and with Chalo we take this a step further in serving crores of people who rely on buses. We have already begun our change to a 100% electric fleet and will also extend into new vehicle categories to serve people better.”
Chalo declareda $40 million funding round in October 2021, after which it said it had acquired office commute bus aggregator, Shuttl.
Chalo has a presence in 37 cities across 13 Indian states including Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, and others.
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