An IIT Alumni is fixing gaps in India's transportation ignored by governments and other startups

This man went from working for Delhi Metro to building a startup that solves transportation in India’s congested roads

Fighting it out on the tough Indian roads are startups in the Indian transportation sector, with the likes of Uber and Ola leading the way. But finding its own path is Shuttl – a technology-enabled, seat-based, demand-adaptive bus mobility service.

​Profitability is a moving goal post, says Shuttl founder

Shuttl has been around for about four years now and has raised $34 million in funding from the likes of Sequoia, Amazon Lightspeed India Partners, Times Internet and Dentsu.

However, profitability is a far thought right now. “There’s always a tradeoff between growth and profitability. When we are close to it, we add more buses, more routes which moves profitability farther away,” he said.

​Here’s why Shuttl is not in competition with Uber and Ola

Although Shuttl caters to the same audience that the likes of Uber and Ola do, Singh believes that they are actually working on a category that didn’t exist.“Small changes make the product very different. They are on-demand companies, we are a planned ride share company – with slots, routes and subscriptions,” he said.

Shuttls-foodtech-debut-and-why-it-doesnt-want-to-be-a-Zomato-or-Swiggy

In the expansion mode now, Shuttl has ventured into foodtech – by offering breakfast and snack options to its consumers along the way. “We are not saying we will become a Swiggy or a freshmenu. Our consumers need food on-the-go. We are working with cloud kitchens,” said Singh.