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FlixBus
German long-distance international coach company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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FlixBus (German pronunciation: ['flɪksbʊs]; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by Flix SE, which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, Kâmil Koç, and Greyhound Lines. FlixBus operates buses or, in many cases, just handles marketing, pricing, and customer service for a commission, on behalf of bus operators.[1][2][3] In 2023, FlixBus had revenues of €2 billion and carried 81 million passengers of which 55 million were in Europe, 14 million were in Turkey, and 12 million were in North America.[4]
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History
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FlixBus was founded in 2011 in Munich by Daniel Krauss, Jochen Engert and André Schwämmlein. They had met in university and began discussing the concept in 2009 after plans were made to deregulate the bus industry in Germany.[5]
FlixBus launched its first three routes in February 2013 in Bavaria, Germany, to take advantage of Germany opening up its bus market to competition.[6] In the following years, it added routes across Europe.[7]
In April 2018, FlixBus was the first to use all-electric vehicles on a long-distance bus route, between Paris La Défense and Amiens.[8]
FlixBus expanded to the United States in 2018, first operating from Los Angeles,[9] then expanding to the East Coast in 2019 through a partnership with Eastern Bus.[10] FlixBus also launched service in Brazil in 2021,[11] Canada in 2022,[12][13][14] Chile in 2023, India in 2024,[15] and Mexico in 2025.[16]
In April 2022, the company converted from a GmbH structure to an SE structure and was renamed Flix SE.[17]
Financing history – parent company, Flix SE
In 2013, the company received equity financing from Mercedes-Benz Group and the Technical University of Munich.[5]
In July 2019, the company raised €500 million in a Series F financing round led by TCV and Permira, valuing the company at over €2 billion.[18]
In June 2021, FlixMobility GmbH raised $650 million in a Series G financing round at a valuation of US$3 billion from investors including General Atlantic, Permira, TCV, HV Capital, BlackRock, Baillie Gifford, and SilverLake.[19]
In July 2024, EQT AB and Kuehne + Nagel acquired a 35% stake in the company for €1 billion.[20][21]
Acquisitions
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International expansion
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As of 2025, FlixBus operates across five continents: Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and will launch in Oceania in late 2025.[36][37] Its services span 44 countries,[38] with expansion plans continuing into new markets.[39]
The company’s growth began in Europe following the deregulation of the German intercity bus market in 2013. In 2015, FlixBus merged with MeinFernbus,[40] consolidating its position in Germany and enabling further international expansion. Between 2015 and 2016, it launched services in France, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
In 2018, FlixBus entered the North American market, initially launching routes in the southwestern United States. This was followed by expansion to the East Coast in 2019 and the acquisition of Greyhound Lines in 2021, which significantly extended Flix’s network to over 1,600 destinations in the U.S. and Canada.[41] Canadian operations formally launched in 2022.
FlixBus entered Latin America in 2021 with services in Brazil,[11] expanding to more than 100 cities by 2024. In 2023, it launched operations in Chile,[42] serving cities across eight regions. Services in Mexico began in May 2025, with a planned launch in Peru later the same year.[37]
In Asia, FlixBus entered the Turkish market through the 2019 acquisition of Kâmil Koç, one of Turkey’s largest intercity bus operators.[43][44] In 2024, FlixBus launched services in India,[15] connecting 46 cities via 59 stops.
In 2025, Flix announced its entry into the Australian market, marking the company’s fifth continent of operation.[26][38]
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Operations
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FlixBus operates an asset-light model in which travel services are provided by over 1,000 local bus partners, while Flix centrally manages network planning, scheduling, pricing, booking, and marketing.[45]
As of 2025, the company operates in 44 countries across five continents, offering over 300,000 daily connections.[46] The network continues to grow through market entries in Latin America, Asia, and Oceania.
Key regional operations include:
- Europe: The core network spans major countries in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, with recent growth in cross-border and airport routes.
- North America: After acquiring Greyhound Lines in 2021, Flix integrated Greyhound’s network of more than 1,600 destinations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.[47] The integration also improved on-time performance (OTP) to over 95 percent.
- Latin America: The Brazilian network has grown to over 100 cities since launching in 2021, while Chile began service in 2023 and now spans 14 cities across eight regions.[46]
- Mexico: FlixBus launched operations in Mexico in May 2025, initially covering five states including Mexico City, Querétaro, and Monterrey, with cross-border integration to Greyhound services.[48][49]
- India: FlixBus entered India in early 2024, connecting 46 cities through a network of 59 stops and more than 200 connections.[50]
Accidents
- In May 2017, the driver of a double-decker bus outside Berlin, Germany, attempted to drive under a bridge with insufficient clearance, completely ripping off its roof. No passengers were on board.[51]
- In May 2018, a bus rolled and crashed near Udine, Italy. There were 43 people on board, of whom 26 were injured.[52]
- In August 2018, a bus travelling from Stockholm to Berlin crashed in Germany after veering off a highway, seriously injuring sixteen passengers.[53][54]
- In December 2018, a bus crashed on a motorway near Zurich, Switzerland, killing two people including the driver.[55]
- In May 2019, a bus crashed in Germany. At least three passengers were seriously injured. Initial police findings were that the bus driver was not at fault for the accident.[56]
- In May 2019, a bus rolled and crashed into a road safety barrier in Germany. One person was killed and 60 were injured. The local police found early indications the driver had fallen asleep.[57]
- In October 2019, a bus rolled and crashed near Bizanet, France. One person was killed and 17 were injured.[58]
- In November 2019, a bus rolled and crashed near Amiens, France, injuring more than 30 people.[59]
- In February 2023, an Uber Eats bicycle courier was struck and killed by a Flixbus coach in Brussels, Belgium.[60] Two months after the incident, the government and FlixBus were criticized for not moving the bus stop away from the bike lane.[61]
- In June 2023, a bus crashed in Avellino, Italy, when it swerved to avoid another car, resulting in one death and injuries to 26 passengers. The company was criticized by a passenger for the lack of support offered after the incident.[62][63]
- In July 2023, a bus crashed into another bus in the Czech Republic, killing one of the drivers and injuring 76 people.[64]
- In September 2023, a 19-year-old Austrian woman died after a bus overturned near Micheldorf, Austria, injuring 20 people.[65]
- In December 2023, an overcrowded Flixbus from Vienna, Austria to Kyiv, Ukraine overturned in Trebišov district of the Košice region of Slovakia, injuring 9 passengers.[66]
- On 5 January 2024, one person died and 11 others were injured in NY State, USA, after a Flixbus that was bound for New York City from Montreal, Canada, rolled over on Interstate 87.[67]
- On 24 March 2024, one person died in Italy after a Flixbus travelling between Milan and Rome crashed close to Modena.[68]
- On 27 March 2024, five people died and 20 others were injured when a Flixbus crashed near Leipzig, Germany, after veering off a highway bound for Zürich from Berlin.[69]
- On 7 November 2024, around 7:10am, a Flixbus operated by Tribal Sun Bus LLC left the roadway and rolled over on I-490 just west of Rochester, New York. All 28 passengers were injured and transported, one critical patient died at the hospital that night.[70] The bus left New York City around midnight, bound for Niagara Falls. The driver was charged for fatigued driving, excessive speed, unsafe lane change, and no seatbelt.[71][72]
- On 3 January 2025, a Flixbus crashed into two cars between the Perušić and Gospić junctions, in the direction of Dubrovnik.[73]
- On 11 January 2025, a Flixbus carrying 13 passengers crashed when exiting the Autobahn 11 between Berlin and Szczecin, causing 2 deaths and 11 injuries.[74]
- On 4 May 2025, a Flixbus from Arlington, Virginia to New York City rear-ended another bus on the New Jersey Turnpike. 39 people were hospitalized because of this chain-reaction crash.[75]
- On 4 July 2025, a Flixbus overturned in Germany leaving 23 injured.[76]
- On 22 July 2025, two FlixBus buses bound for Amsterdam were involved in a crash on the A4 motorway near Nieuw-Vennep, Netherlands. No serious injuries were reported.[77]
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Controversies
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Working conditions for drivers in Germany
In 2016, FlixBus was accused by a German government agency of forcing its partners to make drivers work excessive hours at low wages.[78]
Use of infrastructure without toll payments in Germany
Unlike train services and trucks, buses do not pay any road toll in Germany; this was criticized as a "hidden subsidy" by some German politicians in the spring of 2015.[79] bdo, an association of German bus companies, responded that buses pay for infrastructure use in the form of related taxes (on fuel, for example) while billions in subsidies are paid to national rail provider Deutsche Bahn.[80]
Dominant market share in Germany
In August 2016, following the acquisition of Postbus, FlixBus had control of roughly 80% of the German long-distance bus market, a move criticised by various media outlets as a de facto monopoly and harmful to competition. It was also suggested at the time that FlixBus' control of the market could lead to higher prices and less service to smaller destinations.[81][82][83]
Buses inaccessible for wheelchair users in California
On 14 May 2020, the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC) filed a federal class action lawsuit in a California U.S. District Court against FlixBus and other bus operators alleging that buses were inaccessible for wheelchair users and staff was untrained on how to accommodate wheelchair users.[84]
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Logos
Flixbus – 2015
Meinfernbus.de
MeinFernbus Flixbus – 2015
Flixbus – 2015–2016
FlixBus – 2016–present
References
External links
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