Europe’s largest low-cost bus operator FlixBus enters Ukrainian market

Europe’s largest bus operating company, FlixBus, plans to enter the Ukrainian market, as reported by the Center for Transport Strategies.

What do we know about the launch

FlixBus announced their first press conference in Ukraine, which is scheduled to take place on June 11, 2019. The company’s CEO for Poland and Ukraine, Michal Leman, will talk about the FlixBus development plans in the Ukrainian market, FlixBus business model and cooperation with local bus companies, as well as about the new standard of intercity buses for Ukraine.

The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan, has also confirmed the launch and shared the news on his Facebook page.

“And, yes, the largest and cheapest bus operator in Europe, FlixBus, is going to enter the Ukrainian market. And it also “happened by itself” after our bus transportation reform in 2018. As we promised, there will also be high-quality and cheap bus transportation on Ukrainian roads, which we have repaired. Details will be provided on June 11.”

What is FlixBus

FlixBus is a German bus operator across Europe and the U.S. headquartered in Berlin. The company works on a partnership model with local bus operators who provide their buses and route documents, whereas FlixBus handles sales, marketing, and schedule management.

FlixВus cooperates with over 250 local bus operators which share the same ticket sales system and a brand. FlixBus also operates its own buses.

As of June 1, 2019, FlixВus connects more than 2,000 cities in 29 countries and does over 350,000 daily connections.

FlixBus operated in Ukraine in the past

In 2017, FlixВus announced their first bus operations from Kyiv, Lviv, Rivne, and Zhytomyr to Poland and the Czech Republic. The minimum price of a ticket with a discount was 5 euros for an overnight trip.

The transportation side was handled by Umbrella, Flixbus’s partner from the Czech Republic. However, the operations were recognized financially unfeasible and the company terminated its cooperation with Umbrella in Ukraine. 

In summer 2018, FlixBus got itself a new partner – an international private operator Euroclub that handles operations from Ukraine to Poland, Austria, and Germany. Euroclub’s buses are not branded as FlixBus, but as of June 2019, the routes handled by this operator are the only connection with Ukraine (Kyiv, Uzhhorod, Zhytomyr, and Rivne), available online on FlixBus’s website, according to 24.tv.