Students attending Georgia State and surrounding universities such as Georgia Tech have many available transportation options from which to choose. These options include MARTA, ZipCar and other various forms of public transportation.
Wanderu, an online travel search company that allows individuals to search for point-to -point bus stops and train stations, launched its services to the Southeast last week according to Polina Raygorodskaya, the co-founder and CEO of the company.
“We have partnerships in place with over 20 inter-city bus providers, and we allow people to search point-to-point, from any address, city or point of interest. We located the closest station to them and route between providers to get them to any destination from point-to-point. We also integrate transit directions to and from the station to create a full, seamless trip,” Polina said.
Polina also said that she believed buses were the cheapest and most sustainable way to travel, making the transportation option appealing to college students.
“We want to make it so that any student can be mobile even if they don’t have a car on campus, to help them find a bus trip for the weekend to go visit family or friends or do a bus road trip,” she said.
Polina also said that she and another co-founder of Wanderu took a bus trip last year from Boston, Massachusetts to Austin, Texas using only the company’s search engine, buses and trains.
“We turned it into a week-long trip stopping in Nashville, Montgomery, New Orleans and many other places along the way. It was so much fun and a great way to see the country without worrying about driving in traffic or having to spend a lot of money,” Paulina said.
The Boston Business Journal reported that the company began providing ground traveling booking services in the Northeast, but has now expanded its services for states such as Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
“Wanderu has described its service as a Kayak for ground travel — allowing users to quickly compare scheduling, pricing and factors options for bus and train travel,” the Boston Business Journal said.
Paulina said that the company had initially launched its services in the Northeast because it is the most highly concentrated area for travel but Wanderu has always had the intention to serve the entire U.S.
“Because most people take a bus within 500 miles, we are launching region-by-region once we have at least 50 percent coverage of those regions to provide the most value to travelers looking to find a bus,” she said.
“The availability of buses are a good idea because a lot of students at Georgia State University have to pay out-of-state tuition and fees. This makes it very expensive for students to travel to go home just to see their families over breaks,” Lillia Pete, a Georgia State student from northern Arizona, said.
Georgia State student Allison Edwards said that even though there would be more options available for students to get cheaper bus tickets with the program, she personally still felt safer air traveling.
“I think that airplanes are faster and safer than buses. I feel like buses will get you there, but will take a lot longer. But is a good option for those who want to take a cheaper route,” she said.
The company was founded and began with three people in 2012, but has since grown to a total of fifteen employees.
“We raised a $2.45 million round of financing in August led by Alta Ventures and travel industry executives including Jeff Clarke the current Chairman of Orbitz and Craig Lentzsch, former CEO of Greyhound,” Polina said.
Stations within Georgia, according to Wanderu’s official website, include Atlanta (435 West Peachtree St. NW and Atlanta Peachtree Station), Athens (University of Georgia and 775 East Broad St.), Savannah and Jesup.
“People will now be able to take a bus from the tip of Miami all the way up to southern Canada! We have already helped nearly half a million people travel by bus in the Northeast since August,” Polina said.
