• German Market Leader FlixBus Launches First Budget Bus Route to London

    The German intercity coach market was liberalised in early 2013 and bus providers have been fighting over customers ever since. Active competition has resulted in particularly inexpensive ticket prices and in a high level of comfort on intercity coach trips. While free WiFi and a vast amount of power outlets are standard

  • Accessibility of Long Distance Coaches: A Bus for Everyone(?)

    In the UK about 11 million people suffer from a long-term illness or disability1 and around 9 per cent of the population report having mobility difficulties.2 Although society is working towards the integration and inclusion of people with disabilities, their impairments can still result in obstacles to be overcome in everyday life.

  • The History of the UK Coach Industry

    While coaches are a familiar sight on the UK’s motorways, other European nations such as Germany and France have only recently liberalised the market for intercity bus transport. In Great Britain, horse-drawn stagecoaches had been in use between the 1500s and the 1830s and 1840s, when the invention and

  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Coach Stations around the World

    The comfort of coach journeys depends not only on the on-board features of the respective companies but also on infrastructure issues – for instance on the facilities, which can be encountered at the coach station. The passenger usually benefits from a good location in the centre of the city and from basic features such

  • French intercity bus market kicks things off with cheap fares

    As a result of the passage of the so-called Macron Law, the French intercity coach market is booming. While prior to the liberalisation of the market for long distance bus travel, only cross-border routes were allowed to be operated, national bus routes may also be provided as of now. As transport companies in

  • From the Eiffel Tower to the Côte d’Azur with the intercity bus

    After having been heavily debated for a few months, the “Macron Law” was officially adopted by the French Parliament mid-July. The law aims to strengthen the French economy’s development in numerous areas with various measures, including the liberalisation of the intercity bus market in France.

  • France opens market for intercity buses

    When travelling within their own country, the French are still reliant on cars or on national railway services. Low-cost intercity buses, which have been a familiar sight on British motorways for years, have until recently been pie in the sky for the citizens of the Grande Nation. However, this is

  • France Considers Liberalisation of the Intercity Bus Market

    The ongoing success of intercity buses in countries such as the UK and Germany may have inspired yet another nation to liberalise its market for intercity bus journeys, fostering competition between buses and national railway services. Last week France passed the bill for economic growth, activity and equal opportunities

  • Study: Current Trends and Prospects in the German Intercity Bus Market

    The German Federal Office for Goods Transport has conducted a survey, in which the young intercity bus sector in Germany has been analysed in great detail. The intercity bus industry in Germany was liberalised in early 2013 and has achieved remarkable successes since then. Roughly 240 bus routes

  • Deutsche Touring: Is optimistic about 2015

    2014 was a good year for the Deutsche Touring Group. – The company that operates under the brand Eurolines Germany, offering bus trips primarily outside of Germany. The coach company announced that together with its subsidiaries in Denmark, Czech Republic, Croatia and Serbia, it was able to generate