"
We are redeploying very aggressively this summer: we are going to have the largest network that we have ever had
". It is little to say: Nicolas Brusson, co-founder and CEO of Blablacar, attacks this summer 2021 with envy. The "Macron cars", named after the law on the liberalization of the sector in 2015, are indeed betting big to resume growth after an annus horribilis where the turnover of the sector plunged by 66% according to the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART). “
This summer, we want to have between 80 and 100% of our 2019 clientele
,” says Yvan Lefranc-Morin, Managing Director France of Flixbus, operator present since 2015.
It's a mixture of realism and optimism.
"
Read also: Tourism: the return to favor of nomadism
The enthusiasm of the French for travel after a year of restriction is conducive to a restart with fanfare, hope the tour operators.
"
If the Covid has a lasting effect on business travel, leisure travel has been an immediate success from the recovery, with a strong recovery for bus companies from the Ascension weekend
, analyzes Arnaud Aymé, strategy advisor transport specialist at Sia Partners.
The Covid has shifted the objectives of these companies over time but has not structurally changed the balance of the market.
"
Nothing is taken for granted on the French market
This coach market in France is now reduced to two players while a multitude of companies had tried the coup at the time of the Macron law. Flixbus is the French market leader with around 60% of the shares according to ART, the rest goes to Blablacar. “
These market shares are not acquired
, however, warns Arnaud Aymé.
The clientele is quite versatile and the companies do not own the fleets of vehicles, they subcontract.
"
“
The two companies have the same tactics, that of a race for volume: more connections, more offers, more people in coaches
,” continues the specialist.
The French market is still quite small compared to Germany or Spain, where coach travel has been liberalized for a longer time.
“In 2019, according to ART, around 11 million travelers had used it for their trips in France.
Fake twins ?
These two companies have a similar economic model, that of subcontracting to SME coach operators, which has enabled them to face the health crisis by reducing or eliminating their coach fleets. But today, it is time to search for better profitability. “
It's a volume market with very low margins,”
explains Yvan Lefranc Morin
. The sinews of war are not the price of the tickets, but the fill rates. We were around 60% in 2019. We estimate that at 70% we are at equilibrium.
ART had noted an increase in ticket prices in 2019, after a price war of several years. But travelers can rest assured: the coach remains the cheapest means of motorized travel.