Rally Bus, a crowd-powered, on-demand event travel company that applies technology to the charter bus industry, has raised a $1.25 million seed round. Investors include the YEI Innovation Fund, a fund run by the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, Connecticut Innovations and First Niagara Bank as well as other angel investors focused on early-stage seed funding.

In yet another example of today's sharing economy, Rally Bus (http://rallybus.net)is capitalizing on untapped capacity potential within the charter bus industry. The company is disrupting the industry and changing consumer behavior by reinventing bus travel to make it an enjoyable, extended event-day experience. Riders use the Rally Bus app or go online to reserve bus seats to an event, then use social media to encourage others to sign up to satisfy a necessary threshold for a bus to be confirmed. Rally Bus has established extensive relationships with charter bus companies nationwidewhich it works with to fulfill the trips.

'We felt that there was huge demand for better event travel options, so we created a platform that marries technology with today's digital sharing economy to transform bus service into what we call a 'social mobility network',' says Numaan Akram, CEO and founder of Rally Bus. 'Our riders enjoy a fun, safe and convenient travel option to various events and actually enhance their overall travel experience through the entertainment, relaxation and friendships they enjoy along the way.'

Akram continues: 'On a more macroeconomic level, Rally Bus is helping address larger issues such as traffic congestion, parking limitations and hassles, zero-tolerance policies and the environmental benefits of reducing the number of cars on the road. We are also tapping into growing trends among millennials for fewer vehicle miles driven, declining interest in getting their drivers' licenses and greater receptivity to public modes of transportation.'

Akram founded Rally Bus in 2010 when he organized a series of nearly 100 charter buses from 50 cities around the country to transport nearly 5,000 riders to Washington, D.C. to attend the Rally to Restore Sanity, an event led by satirists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Since then, Rally Bus has received more than 60,000 reservations to sports, entertainment and cultural eventsfrom more than 1,000 North American cities.

Akram notes that the seed funding will be used to help Rally Bus expand its team, ramp up business development and marketing, and make technology investments. He anticipates Rally Bus will pursue a Series A round of venture capital investment during 2015.

About Rally Bus

Rally Bus (http://rallybus.net) is a crowd-powered, on-demand event travel company that is disrupting the charter bus industry and changing behavior by allowing riders to self-organize bus trips to and from events that enhance and extend the overall travel experience. Founded in 2010 as an alternative means to transport thousands of riders nationwide to the Rally to Restore Sanity event in Washington, D.C, the company has attracted more than 60,000 riders to a broad array of sports, entertainment and cultural events in more than 1,000 U.S. cities. Headquartered in New Haven, CT, Rally Bus captured best overall pitch at the inaugural Yale-NYU Summer Accelerator Pitchoff in July 2014.