Notice to bus enthusiasts: BlaBlacar is restarting its lines.
Last fall, the company announced the suspension of its network this winter in the face of the uncertainty of the evolution of the Covid-19 crisis and unpredictable passenger demand.
Ticket sales resumed on Monday and bus traffic in France will resume on Wednesday March 31, to 100 destinations.
BlaBlaCar promises "accessible trips especially for the Easter weekend and the spring holidays", during which millions of French people travel - as normal at least ... The Paris-Lille connections are displayed from 7.99 euros, Lyon-Nîmes or Rennes-Brest from 8.99 euros.
On this occasion, the vehicles also change their name: no longer say BlaBlaBus, as before, but simply BlaBlaCar.
Goal?
Improve the readability of the offer for travelers, who will be able to book on the application of the same name.
Pandemic obliges, strict health measures remain more than ever of rigor (obligatory masks, respect of barrier gestures).
SNCF accused of fayoter ...
If the champion of carpooling turns on the engine of his buses, he also takes the opportunity to settle accounts.
The recent launch by the SNCF of a mobility comparator, focused on the number of kilos of CO2 emitted (unsurprisingly, the train is doing very well), has hardly been appreciated.
In the configuration of its tool, BlaBlacar deplores that the SNCF has applied “an underestimated filling rate of carpooling cars”.
“Their assumptions are bogus, they compare cabbages and carrots,” says Nicolas Brusson, CEO and co-founder of BlaBlaCar.
The “Zero Empty Places” study, carried out for BlaBlaCar, places the average occupancy at 3.4 people per vehicle, while the SNCF has retained the figure of 2.2 passengers.
Carbon sensor in hand, this leads to an "overestimation of 54% of CO2 emissions", estimates BlaBlaCar.
Another complaint, "the reality of door-to-door journeys does not appear in the comparator" (station-to-station journeys), while "carpooling makes it possible to reduce the distances of the first and last kilometers", adds Nicolas Brusson.
However, who plays appeasement: "The enemy is not the train, but the motorist alone in his car".
