INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
FlixBus, the low-cost bus service out of Europe, is doubling down on its U.S
The parent company, FlixMobility, started cheap bus routes between Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson just two months ago.
Now it
adding another 16 connections throughout central and northern California
as well as Nevada and Arizona
The new connections, which begin Thursday, include California cities such asBakersfield, Commerce, Fremont, Fresno, Gilroy, Kettleman City,
Millbrae, Oakland, Richmond, Sacramento, Salinas, San Francisco, San JoseandUniversal City
Several of these routes, including from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Bakersfield to Fresno and Oakland to Burbank are $9.99.
FlixBus might
be competing with traditional bus company Greyhound with fares between U.S
But it has a different business model that is more comparable to ride-hailing company Uber
FlixBus, which now operates in 28 countries, manages the ticketing, customer service, network planning, marketing and sale of its product
The driving is left to local partners, which get to keep a percentage of the ticket receipts.
These local bus partners manage the daily
operations of the brightly painted FlixBuses
The company says it adding 26 more buses to its fleet to accommodate the expansion.New bus partners include Alvand Transportation, Amador
Stage Lines, Classic Charter, LD Tours, Transportation Charter Services and Tourcoach.
FlixBus vehicles have other touches beyond its
brightly painted facades aimed at attracting customers
The buses offer free Wi-Fi and onboard entertainment, and customers can use an app to book their tickets and track their bus.
Customers can
also choose tooffset their carbon emissions with &CO2 Neutral& tickets
An additional 1 to 3 percent of the original price of these CO2 Neutral tickets are donated to a certified Global Climate Protection Project
as well as the National Forest Foundation.
&We chose California as our new home because, more than anywhere else in the US, people no longer
want the hassle of driving,& Pierre Gourdain, the managing director of FlixBus USA, said in a statement, who added the company has become
southern California hometown carrier in a matter of weeks.
The company, which is backed by private equity investors such as Silver Lake
Partners and General Atlantic, launched as FlixBus in 2013 following the deregulation of the German bus market
It has since evolved beyond the name change to FlixMobility
Today, the company operates the FlixBus and FlixTrain brands and as a pilot project forall-electric buses in Germany and France.
