Flix, a global provider of affordable and sustainable travel options, has announced its plans to expand FlixBus operations to India, with the first inter-city green lines expected to launch in early 2024. The global travel tech unicorn’s plans for India follow the successful development of its services in Europe, the Americas, and Türkiye. The company now hopes to bring its business model to India, which is one of the largest bus markets in the world.
The beginning of FlixBus operations in Chile in the second half of 2023 and India in 2024 are the next milestones in Filx’s long-term vision, which includes this as part of the company’s strong growth trajectory.
With buses serving as the foundation of mobility in India and a market larger than the sum of Europe, Turkey, and North America, Flix thinks there is enormous opportunity for growth in this area while offering reasonably priced, environmentally friendly, and secure long-distance bus services.
Flix established a test programme for all-electric long-distance buses in 2018 and ran the first green long-distance train in 2018. In 2021, Flix will introduce the first biogas-powered long-distance buses in the EU.
According to André Schwämmlein, co-founder and CEO of Flix, “Flix is a growing business that will keep going global. I’m happy to announce that India will become the 42nd nation worldwide to join the Flix network. Our objective is to provide everyone with accessible and environmentally friendly travel solutions, and we observe a substantial demand for such services in India.”
“We are confident that our unique business model to work with small and medium-sized local bus partners and our technology for planning, booking operations and pricing will be a winning match also in India. With our strong focus on standardisation and safety we will build the most competitive bus network in this region. We are willing to invest substantially in the local market, create jobs and we are targeting market leadership,” he added.
It’s interesting to note that the global Flix fleet has buses with an estimated average age of 4-5 years. The green buses offer Wi-Fi, legroom, air conditioning, power outlets, and general cleanliness and safety to their customers.
Additionally, FlixBus provides a seat reservation service in the majority of the nations and plans to roll it out across the board.
By entering the Indian market, Flix also hopes to create a considerable number of employment and contribute to the economic growth of the country, with the company’s business model being a primary driver for this goal.
Trusted regional Flix partners manage driver management while Flix handles technology, customer service, quality control, network planning, marketing, and sales.
The business has already started the process of creating a local team in India and has chosen Surya Khurana, a managing director with extensive knowledge of the mobility sector, for the position.
