Pakistan-based bus-hailing service BusCaro says it has maintained positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation since April 2026. The milestone follows an EBITDA margin of negative 9% during fiscal year 2024-25.
Founder and CEO Maha Shahzad told Zag Daily that the company reached the milestone within four years of operations. Its reported lifetime cash burn stood at $1.4 million.
BusCaro’s annual revenue increased from $4.5 million to $6.5 million in its fourth year, Shahzad said. Annual recurring revenue reached $7.1 million.
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The annual revenue increase amounts to approximately 44%, based on the figures she provided. Annual recurring revenue measures recurring business on an annualised basis and differs from revenue already earned.
Bookings pass 30 million
BusCaro, which started in 2022, provides shared commuting services. The company has recorded more than 30 million bookings to date.
That represents an increase of 10 million bookings from the total reported less than a year earlier.
Shahzad attributed the progress to her team’s persistence through a difficult operating environment.
“The biggest driver has been the team behind it and their belief in what they’re building. They’ve kept going even when it looked very unlikely we’d make it over the line,” Shahzad said.
She said the financial improvement came despite tighter global funding conditions, political conflict and inflation.
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Positive EBITDA indicates earnings before several significant expenses. It does not, by itself, establish that a company has achieved net profitability or positive cash flow.
Reliability supports customer retention
Shahzad linked BusCaro’s customer retention to service quality and operational consistency.
“This relentless focus on the customer and operational excellence is why our customers stay. Several of our customers have been with us since day one and across all bookings we have maintained 99.5% reliability. Simply put, our customers have no reason to leave.”
The reliability figure and financial results represent company-reported measures.
BusCaro’s business centres on repeat journeys, including trips to schools, universities and workplaces. Its app describes the service as business-to-business transport for companies, industries and institutions, focused on travel within cities.
School and workplace transport underpin operations
In an earlier Business Recorder interview, Shahzad said BusCaro fully launched in November 2022. She identified Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad as its primary markets.
She said bookings and revenue came from both school transport and workplace commuting. Customers included education networks such as Hamdard and Beaconhouse, alongside factories and offices.
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Shahzad also described a dedicated parent application supporting children’s commutes. At the time, she said the company would remain focused on reliable, safe, two-way journeys.
The latest update shows BusCaro expanding bookings and revenue while moving beyond its previously negative EBITDA margin. Its reported progress now places greater attention on whether it can sustain reliable service as operations grow.
