Wanderu Travel App Adds Mobile Booking

Wanderu is on the move.

The Boston-based travel startup that deals in bus and train tickets (rather than plane tickets), premiered its mobile application yesterday (Feb. 12).

Launching first on iOS, the new app gives travelers the ability to find, compare prices of and book tickets, as well as options for users to store their personal information and to save select routes as “favorites”. Furthermore, the application provides users with the ability to display a ticket’s confirmation number or barcode directly from a smartphone’s screen, rather than necessitating a paper ticket.

The company currently has over 50 travel partners, including Greyhound, Megabus, Peter Pan Bus, Grupo Senda, BoltBus, Go Buses, Concord Coach Lines, New York Trailways, and others, comprising nearly 90 percent of ground travel in the U.S. and southern Canada. Wanderu is also expanding into Mexico this year and adding additional train partners.

According to Wanderu CEO Polina Raygorodskaya, the service has been growing over 400 percent in revenues quarter over quarter, and is now nearing the 5 million user mark. She attributes much of Wanderu’s growth to the attraction the site has for the millennial demographic, who are less likely than previous generations to have their own cars.

“We’re really the only place where millennials – which is who’s traveling by bus – can come and quickly book their trips,” Raygorodskaya says. “Our goal is to create a brand for millennials. Ground travel is just where we’re starting.”