Munich, 12 January 2021 – The year 2020 has brought many challenges and changes for Europe’s largest long-distance bus provider FlixBus. Last spring the company suspended almost the entire network due to the current situation around the Covid-19 Pandemic. FlixBus restarted the service at the end of May 2020 and FlixTrain at the end of July, in order to continue to offer passengers sustainable and affordable travel. The resumption/continuation of connections was possible thanks to a comprehensive hygiene concept. In addition to mandatory masks for passengers and contactless check-in, this includes regular disinfection of buses and trains – over 162,000 litres were used for this purpose in 2020.

Passenger numbers and current travel data show lower seasonal effects than in the past; FlixBus therefore continuously adapts the offer to the current situation and dynamically to demand.

Travel data analysis: seasonal effects redistribute

The pandemic poses unprecedented challenges for the entire mobility industry and travel activity in general fell sharply. Around 30 million passengers travelled with FlixBus and FlixTrain in 2020 – almost 50% fewer than last year.

Until now, the industry has been able to anticipate seasonal effects and plan accordingly. However, the evaluation of FlixMobility’s own travel data currently shows that seasonal effects have been significantly weakened by the pandemic. Instead, there are many smaller travel waves that are more evenly distributed. The waves can be attributed to different phases in the pandemic with various regulations and risk areas influencing travel behavior.

André Schwämmlein, CEO and founder, FlixMobility: “As an early-stage travel tech company, we have the know-how and the possibility to react quickly and flexibly to the changing demand, in contrast to conventional transport providers. This is necessary in order to operate economically, also with a view to our partners.”

The route network offered is thus largely geared to passenger demand. Very well booked connections are extended in order to distribute the load adequately.

2021: FlixMobility continues to be an important part of the revolution of sustainable transport

Since its beginnings, FlixMobility has pursued the vision of offering affordable and environmentally friendly mobility for all people. In 2020, the Federal Environment Agency in Germany once again gave long-distance bus travel the best environmental rating in terms of CO2 emissions per passenger. This evaluation reinforces the vision and shows that FlixMobility is an important part of an environmentally friendly mobility landscape.

André Schwämmlein: “Only with fair competitive conditions can we achieve Germany and Europe’s sustainability goals. This includes a fair rail market as well as greater consideration of long-distance buses as the most sustainable means of transport on the part of politicians. In 2021, FlixBus will definitely return to the roads and FlixTrain to the rails to offer people a real travel alternative and avert a renewed trend towards more individual transport. It is our goal to resume operations as soon as possible in line with the situation around COVID-19 , and to expand the network again in the new year.”

Climate-neutral travel with FlixBus

Despite the challenging times, FlixMobility continues to stick to its goal of being completely climate neutral on the road by 2030 and continues to invest in sustainable mobility. FlixMobility offers its passengers the opportunity to offset the individually calculated CO2 emissions of their respective journey. Globally, around 6.5% of passengers currently opt for voluntary CO2 compensation. In 2020, over 7 tonnes of CO2 were offset by passenger journeys. This shows that even in the current times, sustainability has a high priority for FlixMobility travelers. 75% of the climate protection contribution is used by FlixMobility CSR partner atmosfair to finance fuel-efficient stoves in Rwanda. The emissions of the journey are thus fully compensated. The remaining 25% of the sum goes into the Future of Mobility Fund – a fund that atmosfair and FlixBus 2020 have jointly launched to drive a sustainable transport revolution. In addition, the fund supports local and non-profit organisations to make climate-friendly offers in daily life accessible to all. On the railways, FlixMobility is already CO2-neutral: all FlixTrain trains run on 100% green electricity from wind and hydroelectric power from Greenpeace Energy. Since 2018 FlixBus has operated pilot projects with the world’s first electric long-distance buses in France and Germany, and last year for the first time in the USA.

Extensive hygiene concept and new tools for a pleasant journey

With the expansion of the route network, the extensive hygiene and safety measures designed by FlixBus in cooperation with experts and authorities remain in place. For example, the buses are thoroughly disinfected after every journey, equalling more than 162,000 litres of disinfectant were used in 2020 to protect passengers. Furthermore, the buses are regularly ventilated during the journey in addition to the supply of fresh air through ventilation. Wearing a mask is compulsory when getting on and off the bus as well as during the entire journey. A new information tool also shows passengers the occupancy rate on the bus at all times. (Further information on the hygiene concept in the appendix and here)