Commonwealth_ Four years after Greyhound abruptly exited Canada, a German transportation giant is betting that Canadians still crave the vintage, basement-bargain bus ride. Flixbus, founded in Munich back in 2013, went international with signature bright green buses for very affordable intercity travel. Over the past decade, it expanded to more than 40 countries, revolutionizing the long-distance bus travel scene with digital comfort added to affordability.
It first entered the North American market in 2018 on U.S. west coast routes. When Greyhound pulled out of Canada in 2021, Flixbus bought the brand on the spot and began operating cross-border service between the United States and Canada. It added domestic routes in Canada by 2022, and it just hasn’t looked back since.
According to Flix North America CEO Kai Boysan, the company has doubled its Canadian mileage every year since starting operations in the country. “We’re going to make Flix travel top of mind for anyone planning a long journey in Canada,” Boysan said from the company’s Dallas office.
Expanding Across the Prairies
FlixBus extends to Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan and aims to do so by adding Manitoba with new interprovincial routes. Although Flixbus is growing, it is not the only company planning to expand. Traditional regional players like Ebus and Rider Express have been quietly operating in Western Canada and are looking to extend their networks as well.
However, transport experts caution that private firms are limited in their ability to establish a comprehensive national bus network. Less lucrative rural and distant places sometimes fall through the cracks, regardless of how attractive the lucrative routes connecting major city centers may be.
“You will require government assistance when considering some of those more rural towns,” stated David Cooper, senior partner with Toronto-based consulting firm Leading Mobility. “The economics just don’t exist for private operators in low-density towns.”
Flixbus recognizes this deficiency and states it is willing to collaborate with municipal, provincial, and federal governments to subsidize smaller communities where commercial business would be unaffordable by itself.
The “Uber for Buses” Business Model
The most fascinating feature of Flixbus is probably its business model, a “Uber for buses” as Boysan refers to it. Rather than having and running a fleet outright, Flixbus partners with local bus operators to lease drivers, bus maintenance, and day-to-day operations. Flixbus is technology-driven, using data analysis to predict demand, align schedules, and price competitively. Consequently, the company has low expenses but offers customers an online booking system that is convenient and real-time information on trips.
Trying to Replace Short-Haul Flights
Aside from traditional intercity travel, Flixbus is marketing itself as cleaner and more reliable competition for expensive, delay-plagued, and carbon-hungry short-haul flying. Boysan sees tremendous potential in linking bus schedules with other travel plans as part of overall longer journeys, filling gaps in airport and Via Rail terminal services.
The vision, he continues, is to integrate Flixbus into multi-modal transit—where one would fly into a hub airport and then continue by Flixbus into smaller towns or cities, as opposed to renting a car.
A Growing but Challenging Market
While demand for budget travel continues to be high, the Canadian intercity bus sector is still in shambles. Decades of falling ridership, competition from cut-rate airlines, and huge geographical spreads make it difficult to span an entire country without the aid of public subsidy.
But Flixbus doesn’t appear to be daunted that it can take a sizeable chunk of the market with comparable prices, high-end amenities, and a global brand name Canadians are familiar with. Its steady expansion means that city-to-city bus travel, rather than dying off, could be seeing a resurgence in Canada, one that takes on antique road travel while affording sharing economy efficiency.
For passengers, that would mean cheaper prices, better connections between urban centers, and—if Flixbus gets its way—a new era of bus travel as a cool, convenient, and networked means of getting around the nation.
