Quno exits stealth to get UK rail travellers booking online
This is, of course, perhaps a reflection of the industry itself but either way, Quno believes it’s impacting the move to booking train tickets online. Currently, two thirds of rail booking in the UK is done physically at train stations themselves, which compares badly to the rest of the travel industry. Quno (a play on the words “queue” and “no”) is trying to change this.
The National Rail accredited site isn’t just competing on price – it guarantees that its advertised online fares are never available cheaper at the railway station – but also in terms of user experience and the data it has available. Quno claims to offer the “first” visual timetable tool, which gives travellers the entire day’s options in a single snapshot, making it much easier to compare the impact of traveling at different times during the day or week etc. Hence the airline booking comparison.
Noteworthy, aside from any upcoming features, Quno isn’t a UK-only play but is gunning to be a pan-European player. It aims to offer rail travel across “most major European destinations by the end of 2012, allowing travellers to book multi-country rail journeys in a single transaction.” That’s ambitious stuff indeed.
SilverRail is VC funded: It received $9 million in series A capital from a group of top-tier investment firms including Sutter Hill Ventures, Grandbanks Capital, PAR Capital, Brook Ventures.