Low-cost bus company Wemobi launches 16 new routes in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A risky enterprise by the JCA Group (owner of the bus companies Catarinense, Cometa and 1001), low-cost startup Wemobi has proven a hit.

The bus company that competes with startups such as Buser and 4Bus began operations in July last year, offering trips between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro for prices starting at R$19.90 (US$3.88).

One year later and despite the pandemic, the company hit the mark of 250,000 completed trips and announced an expansion plan for the second half of the year. The goal is to reach 50 cities by the end of the year, with 16 new routes launched in Brazil’s more developed South and Southeast regions in September.

There are currently 8 destinations between cities in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Paraná.

“With more people fully immunized, we expect a gradual rise in demand for the second semester; there is great repressed demand,” Wemobi’s CEO Rodrigo Trevizan says. The company received a new R$5 million investment from 2A Investimentos, a JCA group fund, to finance the expansion – last year it received R$8.6 million to start operations.

Wemobi focuses on a model with high use of technology to lower ticket prices – the most expensive route operated by the company (São Paulo-Cabo Frio) currently costs R$59.90. “Wemobi is a platform that combines operations, technology and marketing. We are asset light, we operate by renting JCA buses,” Trevizan says.

Another decisive factor for the startup’s lower fares is the larger number of people per trip. Each trip is made in double-decker buses, with 68 seats, while a conventional bus accommodates 46.

In addition, the startup works only in cities with high demand and in fully digital form, thereby cutting costs with ticket counters and attendants. In total, the company employs 32 people.

According to its CEO, a more digital proposal and low prices have attracted a public that was not used to traveling by bus. About 20% of the company’s passengers had not planned a trip until they heard about the company’s proposal.

“We have a younger and more dynamic customer profile who heard about us through social networks or referrals from friends,” Trevizan says.

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