MakeMyTrip announced on Friday that it has acquired a majority stake in Quick Ride, a Bengaluru-based ride-pooling platform. The move marks a significant expansion of the online travel company’s ground transportation portfolio, adding daily urban commuting to its existing services. The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal or its precise ownership percentage in the new entity.
Expanding Beyond Flights and Hotels
The acquisition gives MakeMyTrip a foothold in the shared mobility segment. This addition complements its current ground transport offerings, which include bus bookings through redBus and intercity car rentals via Savaari. Quick Ride connects commuters traveling along similar routes, allowing them to share rides and split costs. The platform also partners with corporations, IT parks, and business campuses, providing access to a customer base that extends beyond individual travelers.
Quick Ride recently restructured its operations, moving its ride-pooling business and brand into a new company called Co Ride Mobility. MakeMyTrip now controls this new entity. The electric vehicle taxi business remains with iDisha Info Labs, and Quick Ride’s existing promoters will continue to run the business operations. This strategic shift allows MakeMyTrip to tap into a product that users engage with on random weekdays, rather than only before holidays or trips.
Strategic Push Ahead of IPO
This deal continues a series of acquisitions by MakeMyTrip as it prepares for a reported initial public offering in India. The company acquired Savaari in 2023, corporate expense platform Happay in 2024, Flamingo Transworld for group holidays, and took a minority stake in visa processor Atlys. These moves support a broader strategy to diversify revenue streams as its core air business faces softening demand.
Financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended September 30, 2026, highlight this shift. Non-air businesses accounted for 63.2% of gross bookings, up from 61.5% a year earlier. The “other” segment, which includes cabs, insurance, foreign exchange, and activities, posted adjusted margins of $24.4 million, representing a 30% year-over-year increase. Ride-pooling provides MakeMyTrip with a reason for customers to open the app on days they are not traveling, potentially increasing user engagement and lifetime value.
The integration of Quick Ride into MakeMyTrip’s ecosystem aims to create a more comprehensive travel and mobility platform. By capturing daily commute habits, the company hopes to convert regular users into travelers for its other services. The success of this strategy will depend on whether the daily commuters become loyal MakeMyTrip customers for flights and hotels.
Source: Skift
