“Waiting list” is one term that every IRCTC user hates to hear. Booking a waiting list ticket not just makes a journey unpredictable but also causes huge inconvenience to the traveller. Making situations worst, there hasn’t been a feasible solution to the unpredictability of ‘Waiting List’ for ages, resulting in last minute cancellation of plan. It was a few such experiences that sparked the idea of
ConfirmTkt in Sripad and Dinesh Kotha. In 2010 when they were working in Bangalore, they realised the existing gap in market while trying to book tickets for their home town Hyderabad.
The frustration and helplessness of a waitlisted ticket made then research further on the probability of ticket confirmation, which was when they found a pattern. It took them almost 2 years to collect all the previous data and analyse the pattern for better accuracy. By 2012, they were able to build a complete algorithm which can predict the chances of confirmation of a waitlisted ticket. Built with the help of previous data analysis that was accumulated from various repositories across trains and routes in India, the algorithm was able to predict the results most accurately. After further research and work on precision of results, Sripad and Dinesh successfully launched the website Confirmtkt.com in 2014, which was the first of its kind PNR status prediction website.
Within no time, the app for iOS, Windows and Android were also launched. Inspite of a few existing competitors like Ixigo, Railyatri and ConfirmTkt was successful in attracting the audience owing its core competencies - prediction accuracy and alternative options to travel (same train alternatives or by break journey). With increasing user base, their confidence and aspiration to offer users a comfortable travel increased. it was initially just a train ticket prediction and booking platform, expansion into other areas of travel space with PNR Search, Train schedule, Live train status, finding alternatives, local Train Search, Bus Booking, cab and auto booking added more value to their product.
Currently a team of 15 based in Bangalore, ConfirmTkt has had a significant increase in traction over the past one year with 20-30% increase every month. Incubated by Amendus and featured at G-Start-up 2016 among the top 25 start-ups in Bangalore, ConfirmTkt has a daily user base of 1,25,000 and total app downloads about 1.5 million. With future plans of entering the other travel segments ConfirmTkt is definitely marching towards revolutionizing the travel space at a great pace.
