Yahoo Finance New intercity coach service launched despite dampened demand
An intercity coach service is being launched in Britain this week by transport app FlixBus - despite a plunge in bus travel.
Services will run from London to Bristol, Guildford, Birmingham and Portsmouth as the Munich-based start-up works with local bus operators to offer about 200 trips a week with fares at £3. It does not own coaches or employ drivers directly.
FlixBus will initially use six coaches and plans to increase that number in response to demand. It expects several million UK passengers to use the service in the first 12 months.
The firm carried 62 million passengers overall last year but was forced to suspend cross-border services in Europe during the pandemic.
Andreas Schorling, head of FlixBus UK, said: “With the lockdown restrictions easing, people will want to start travelling to see family and friends, go back to university or college or travel for work and we will offer a safe, comfortable and affordable way to do this.”
Bala Balasuresh, of London-based partner YPIJ Coaches, said: “This is a massive boost to our business which has been hit hard in the past few months.”
Kevyn Jones, of Bristol firm Turner’s Coachways, said: “The travel industry has been badly hit by the coronavirus, so this is a very welcome launch.”
Demand for coach travel remains subdued. National Express is only relaunching services at a reduced frequency from Wednesday.
The FTSE 250 firm, which suspended all services in the past three months, said earlier in June that coaches can only run at 50pc capacity due to social distancing restrictions.
FlixBus said fewer than half of the seats on its buses will be sold to ensure passengers can keep a safe distance, while coaches will be disinfected before every journey and face masks will be compulsory.
Founded in 2013, the start-up raised €500m (£457m) from investors last year to expand.
