Determined to accelerate the digitisation of the ground transportation sector, Bookaway Group has launched ‘seatOS’, a Transport Management System developed inhouse for operators of buses, ferries and rail in its core APAC and LATAM markets, with the ultimate aim of making booking ground transportation as easy as booking a hotel or a flight.
According to the group, only 10% of bus, ferry, and rail tickets are booked digitally. “The ground transportation sector remains the weak link in a travel ecosystem, where airline, hotel, and destination experiences can be easily planned, booked and serviced online. Unlike airlines and hotels, the majority of ground transport operators in the group’s key LATAM and APAC markets haven’t been able to easily access technology, meaning they still run using pen and paper or Excel spreadsheets, which is slowing the growth of e-commerce in the sector.”
It said seatOS has been developed inhouse and dedicated to the local needs of operators in APAC. It is being piloted by local operators in the Philippines and Thailand.
“The system has been built from the ground up as a Software-as-a-Service proposition, designed for the specific needs of operators in APAC, including local compliance and financial requirements,” it added. The group has a team of more than 25 developers working on its TMS products, offering local solutions in different regions of the world.
“A Transportation Management System is equivalent to a Passenger Service System used by an airline or Property Management Systems common to hotels. It is the beating heart of any bus or ferry operator, managing the availability of an operator’s seat inventory, releasing it for sale, and setting prices based on booking requests arriving through digital and offline sales channels. It also organises operational aspects like maintenance, routes, GPS tracking, staff schedules, financial reporting, and analytics. Adding a TMS is the fastest way for operators to move ticket sales online and grow sales.”
At the same time, the group announced its acquisition of Sisorg, a leading Latin America Software-as-a-Service TMS, which was completed in July 2021. With 20 years of experience, Sisorg boasts one of the world’s most specialised TMS R&D teams. The group will apply its scale and resources to boost the adoption of Sisorg across LATAM, including markets like Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Paraguay.
The Sisorg acquisition brings more than 100 operator customers in LATAM.
Noam Toister, CEO & co-founder, Bookaway Group said, “We want to bring every bus, ferry, and train seat online to create an efficient marketplace with a modern digital experience for travelers. But we can’t do that if an operator is using pen and paper. That’s why we’re giving operators in Asia and Latin America a simple TMS they can easily adopt to begin selling online, with Bookaway Group or any other marketplace.
“The core of our strategy still remains helping travelers to book easily, we’re also building TMSs because it removes a huge barrier to seamless ground transport experiences. If we see a barrier like this we’ll find a way to remove it. Our secret sauce is our ability to quickly and successfully adapt to each market’s needs.”
Bookaway Group has raised more than $80 million in VC funding to date and operates through four consumer-facing brands; Plataforma 10 in Latin America, 12Go in Asia Pacific, GetByBus in eastern Europe as well as its global play, bookaway.com.
