Eurolines Group, controlled by Romanian entrepreneur Dragos Anastasiu, has joined forces with Germany’s leading long-distance bus operator FlixBus, making, thus, its entry on the Romanian market, as of September 1.
Following this partnership, Eurolines’ international lines from countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, England, Italy, Spain or France will be integrated into the FlixBus route network. This integration brings another 1,000 destinations for Eurolines customers.
“We plan to grow locally and focus on local clients. Until the start of the winter season peak, we will fully integrate the lines into our network. We will add about 50 buses to this Romanian network,” Nikolai Voitiouk, Vicepresident for Business Eastern Europe FlixBus stated in a press conference.
“Once we become accustomed to the Romanian market, we will try to develop more here and probably sign up with other local carriers if the possibility arises,” Voitiouk added.
One of the reasons for this agreement is the lack of technology with which Eurolines faced.
“You can not go further without digitising. Depending on the results of the partnership, we will have to increase our fleet, as FlixBus does not own buses,” Dragos Anastasiu said in turn. Eurolines estimates it will double the number of carried passengers, reaching 300,000 in 2018, from 150,000 in 2017.
FlixBus was launched in 2013 in Germany after the opening-up of the national market. Based on an innovative business model, new tech innovations and the cooperation with regional bus companies, the start-up was able to run a national network within months.
FlixBus now offers Europe’s most extensive coach network with 100.000 daily connections to 20 countries and created around 5.000 new jobs in the local SME industry of its key markets. Despite global players entering the growing market, FlixBus and its regional bus partners have established the leading provider in Germany, France, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands, as well as new service standards for coach travellers all over Europe. From headquarters in Munich, Berlin, Paris, Zagreb and Milan, FlixBus is now operating 1.000 green buses all over Europe and carried around 20 million passengers last year.