EP 65 | FreshBus: Driving India’s Intercity Travel Electric | Sudhakar CHIRRA
Description
Welcome to the Energizing India Podcast! On this program, we engage with the key protagonists shaping the future of energy, mobility, and sustainability in India and globally. I’m your host, Ravin MIRCHANDANI, and today we’re stepping into a completely new lane of India’s transport story in relation to zero-emission intercity travel going electric. We’re talking about FreshBus, a young but ambitious player redefining what it means to move people cleanly, comfortably, and efficiently across states.
Joining us is Mr. Sudhakar CHIRRA, a serial entrepreneur synonymous with innovation in India’s bus mobility space. Before FreshBus, he founded and led AbhiBus, India’s first bus-ticketing app that reshaped how travelers connect with operators.
Now he heads FreshBus, an all-electric, full-stack intercity bus platform that’s rewriting expectations of cost, speed, and sustainability in mobility. Since launching in 2019, FreshBus has built a battery-powered fleet, carried hundreds of thousands of passengers, and is now backed by a $10.5 million Series A round to scale that ambition nationwide.
With Sudhakar as our guide, today we’ll explore:
● What does it mean to start fresh with a 100% electric fleet?
● How does one build profitability in a capital-intensive asset under real Indian conditions?
● What’s the passenger experience really like when “EV+Tech” replaces convention?
Sudhakar, welcome to the program.
United States
