FlixBus photos on Flickr

Patente: GG 851 ZS (Francia - Unión Europea)
N° de Orden Interno: 60

Lugar de la Fotografía: Paris Bercy Bus Station, París, Francia.

Fecha y Hora de la Fotografía: Martes 5 de septiembre de 2023.

__________________________________________________

Rafa Fuentealba★Locura_Micrera

FLIXBUS (1) by asannei

11

Flixbus-Gruppo Stat 230 by Miniautobusero

9

Flixbus-Socitransa 2890 by Miniautobusero

14

DSC_0111 by Ray Parnaby Bus Stop Photos

10

DSC_0111 - FX23 - BL17 XBB - Scania K410EB6/Caetano Levante (Facelift) - Whippet Coaches (FlixBus) - Victoria, Semley Place 03/07/21

McGill’s Buses (T/A Flixbus) Volvo 9700 by Exiled Bhoy no longer in Fife

25 5

Something very new

FLiXBUS has extended its United Kingdom (UK) network to Scotland as part of further expansion within the UK with Greenock based McGills Buses being introduced as its partner to introduce Anglo-Scottish services.

You may wonder who is FLiXBUS? Well, they’re a German company with plans to be the major coach operator in Europe as well as the dominant coach operator in the UK by 2025, ahead of National Express and Stagecoach owned Megabus, a very ambitious target. They began in 2011 but their growth started when they took advantage of the liberalisation of the German coach market in 2013. They expanded rapidly and their green coaches became familiar sights on the autobahns, autoroutes and autostradas of Europe. They’ve done this by operating a similar business model to low cost airlines and indeed Megabus, namely online low-cost demand sensitive booking using coaches. The company owns no coaches and like Citylink and Megabus, draws coaches from outside operators, ideally in its livery. As more European markets opened up, so FLiXBUS grew through acquisitions and mergers. It purchased Eurolines, the pan-European coach business and Stagecoach’s tentative Megabus European operations on the continent, with Stagecoach remaining a contractor. It now runs across Europe and the United States as well.

However, it only begun in the UK in March 2020 with services mainly to and from London but these were suspended after a few weeks because of the pandemic. They resumed earlier this year.

However, the UK is where FLiXBUS may meet it’s biggest challenge. Unlike other European coach markets, which until recently were heavily regulated, the UK market is a mature market, having been deregulated for coaches as far back as 1980. It has two well known brands already operating and both already offer the same service as FLiXBUS. Indeed, you could argue that Stagecoach with Megabus pioneered the very business model FLiXBUS uses as its USP.

In view of this, FLiXBUS has adopted a slightly different approach as its first Anglo-Scottish service from Glasgow actually goes via Edinburgh, Newcastle and Sunderland and down the east coast rather than the traditional west coast routes. These are services not traditionally offered by National Express/Megabus so it’ll be interesting to see how the service does.

To operate these services, McGills has bought something different, the first Volvo 9700 coaches with any operator in the UK, such as I0611 (SJ21NDN) seen here. This is Volvo’s integral coach offering and it’s an impressive beast.

DSC_0120 by Ray Parnaby Bus Stop Photos

11

DSC_0120 - FX29 - BV67 JZP - Scania K410EB6/Caetano Levante (Facelift) - Whippet Coaches (FlixBus) - Victoria, Semley Place 03/07/21

DSC_8598 by Ray Parnaby Bus Stop Photos

10

DSC_8598 - OU22 ZXE - Neoplan N2216SHDC Tourliner - Hearns Coaches (FlixBus) - Victoria, Buckingham Palace Road 09/07/22

McGill's of Greenock Volvo B11R Volvo 9700 SJ22HBC 0615, in Flixbus livery, operating Flixbus service 010 to London departing Edinburgh Bus Station on 9 November 2022. by Robin Dickson

10

McGill’s FlixBus BV71 HYJ on the N10 From London Victoria by Jonty1scotland Photography

12

McGill’s FlixBus BV71 HYJ on the N10 From London Victoria

TH21NDY by trevor plackett