Flixbus wants to expand to Brazil

The green buses will soon be on the road in South America too. This is made possible by the opening of the mobility market in Brazil.

The Munich-based bus company Flixbus has announced plans to expand into Brazil. To this end, the German start-up is working with regional bus partners to develop the location. Initially, the start-up wants to connect large cities such as Rio and Sao Paulo, and later build a nationwide network. Brazilians love long-distance bus travel. 60 percent of the 211 million strong population use long-distance bus travel, according to a survey conducted by Flixbus. This makes the South American country one of the largest markets in the world.

"We expect that the opening of the Brazilian mobility market will lead to a significant change and many opportunities for innovative players," says André Schwämmlein, co-founder and CEO of FlixMobility. "A competitive market offers more choice for travelers and promotes sustainable mobility alternatives and affordable travel." Schwämmlein hopes for further liberalization in the long-distance coach travel market. In Europe, Spain, Greece and Romania are still missing, where Flixbus cannot operate.

Flixbus currently offers 270 German destinations, which is three quarters of the entire network. The company only restarted its bus operations in March. In November, Flixbus had stopped services due to the pandemic. The company currently serves 40 German cities with the Flixtrain.