Zophop

Zophop Technologies Private Limited, which now operates as Chalo, was established in March 2014 to address challenges in urban commuting in India. The company was founded by Mohit Dubey, the founder and CEO of CarWale, along with Vinayak Bhavnani, Priya Singh, and Dhruv Chopra. The founders were motivated by the insight that the vast majority of Indians rely on public transportation, sparking the idea to streamline the daily commute. Vinayak Bhavnani, a computer science graduate from IIT Delhi, brought his technical expertise from previous roles to build the company's foundation.

Initially launched as Zophop, the company's primary offering was a mobile application that served as a multimodal journey planner. This app aggregated data for various public transport options, including buses, trains, and metro services, to suggest the quickest and most cost-effective routes for commuters. It also integrated with ride-hailing services like Uber to provide a comprehensive travel solution. A key feature was the real-time tracking of public transport, providing users with estimated times of arrival to reduce waiting times. Over time, the business pivoted to focus more intensively on the bus transport sector, rebranding as Chalo. This strategic shift allowed the company to concentrate on solving the reliability issues inherent in bus travel.

The company's business model encompasses both B2C and B2B offerings. For consumers, the Chalo app provides live bus tracking, trip planning, and digital ticket purchasing. For bus operators, Chalo offers a technology suite that includes GPS devices for fleet tracking and a dashboard for monitoring operations and optimizing routes. This technology helps transport agencies improve service efficiency and increase revenue. Revenue is generated by charging bus operators a fee for the technology deployed on their fleet. The company has demonstrated significant milestones, including acquiring scooter rental startup Vogo and bus aggregator Shuttl to enhance its first and last-mile connectivity services.

Keywords: Chalo, Zophop, public transportation, urban mobility, transit tech, journey planner, bus tracking, real-time ETA, mobile ticketing, fleet management, smart commute, transport data analytics, last-mile connectivity, Mohit Dubey, Vinayak Bhavnani, multimodal transport, public transit app, India, transport solutions, smart city