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Flixbus at the Berlin bus station
Photo: Stefan Zeitz / IMAGO
The long-distance bus operator Flixbus lost customers in the summer because of the 9-euro ticket.
"We have lost a lot of passengers on certain routes, the numbers there have fallen by a third to a half," said Flixbus boss André Schwämmlein to SPIEGEL.
As examples he named the Berlin-Leipzig, Munich-Nuremberg and Hamburg-Hanover routes.
Overall, Flixbus had a very good summer because people wanted to travel again.
However, on routes for which travelers in regional trains could use the 9-euro ticket from June to August, the use of buses fell significantly.
According to Schwämmlein, the number of passengers there increased again after the offer expired.
The federal and state governments had offered the 9-euro ticket to relieve citizens of the high petrol and energy prices.
The federal government has now agreed with the states on the basics of a follow-up solution.
The aim is a nationwide ticket at a flat rate of 49 euros per month, but there is still a dispute about the financing of local transport.
Possible restrictions on routes
A few weeks ago, Flix-Boss Schwämmlein offered the federal government to include long-distance buses in the new ticket.
"We are not aiming for any additional business with the participation," says Schwämmlein.
Rather, it is a question of making the customer an attractive offer and preventing renewed distortion of competition - and at the same time a considerable legal risk for the subsequent ticket.
With a fee in the low to medium double-digit million euro range for the integration of Flixbus, this is guaranteed, measured against the total cost of the ticket, which is expected to be three to four billion euros, is “a manageable amount”.
According to Schwämmlein, Flixbus covers some regions better than regional train services, especially in large areas like Bavaria.
If Flix were not included in the 9-euro follow-up ticket, this would mean: “We would then have to significantly reduce our offer on some routes in Germany, probably from January” – at the expense of the passengers.
You can't maintain operations everywhere "if the subsidized competition drives more or less for free".
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