Mumbai : As Maharashtra & Goa prepare for Holi, the festival of colours that brings together celebrations, reunions, and festive getaways, intercity travel across the state is gathering strong momentum. Data from the redBus platform indicates that bus bookings in Maharashtra & Goa are projected to rise by 42 percent during the Holi travel window. The analysis compares projected bookings between 28th February and 8th March 2026 with the corresponding period last year (8th to 16th March 2025), pointing to a clear acceleration in homebound and leisure-led journeys, highlighting a rise in demand for festive homebound travel, leisure trips, and reunions with family and friends.
This surge reflects the continued importance of buses as a preferred mode of transport during festive occasions, particularly for travellers planning short getaways or visiting loved ones. The trend also signals evolving travel behaviour, with commuters increasingly booking in advance and opting for comfort-led services along high-demand corridors connecting major urban centres with hometown and tourism destinations.
Key Travel Projections (as per bookings on the redBus platform)
Top Routes by Traffic:
● Nagpur-Pune
● Pune-Nagpur
● Pune-Mumbai
● Pune-Goa
● Pune-Hyderabad
● Mumbai-Hyderabad
Top Boarding Points by Traffic
● Sangamwadi (Pune)
● Wakad (Pune)
● Swargate (Pune)
● Ashirwad Theatre (Pune)
● Borivali East (Mumbai)
● Nigdi (Pune)
Travellers’ Preferences:
● 85% of bookings are for AC buses, indicating a strong preference for comfortable travel options, while the remaining 15% are for non-AC buses.
● 89% of travellers have opted for sleeper buses, underscoring the continued popularity of convenient overnight journeys during the festive travel period.
Traveller Demographics:
● Male travellers account for 68%, while female travellers make up 32% of total bus bookings.
● 48% of travellers begin their journeys from the metro city of Mumbai (Tier 1), while 20% depart from (Tier 2) cities and 32% from (Tier 3) towns and villages, underscoring strong metro demand alongside steady momentum in non metro markets.
Together, these trends point to a strong and sustained rise in festive travel from Maharashtra & Goa, driven by cultural celebrations, homebound movement, and growing leisure mobility during the Holi period. As the festival continues to serve as an important occasion for families and friends to reunite and travel across regions, redBus remains committed to supporting seamless intercity connectivity within Maharashtra & Goa and beyond, enabling travellers to plan their festive journeys with ease.
