In the last three months, I’ve been struck by the passion and dedication of the coach operators I’ve met in my new role as Head of Business Development at FlixBus. It’ s clear that building and maintaining a successful coach operation takes a great deal of dedication.
When my team and I visit depots around the country to expand our network, I’ve seen first-hand the great pride operators take in their history. Often, we are meeting second, third, or even fourth generations of families, now looking to shape the next phase of their company – and family’s – story.
The pandemic has shown business owners the importance of diverse revenue streams to safeguard against hard times. With a looming recession, most operators would benefit from adding express work to their portfolio because it’s an attractive vertical, providing stable and reliable income, 365 days a year. However, starting this from scratch requires significant investment in technology and marketing, which is why joining an existing network is the most effective way to start express services.
FlixBus has a true partnership approach to express services, which has enabled our success. Our unique point of difference is the digital tools we’ve created, crucial in today’s market. By 2023, digitally led organisations are forecast to contribute to more than half of global GDP. Our advanced technology offers advanced demand generation, and then our high-quality operator partners, with local knowledge, deliver the service.
This approach, which allows both parties to focus on our respective areas of expertise, is the magic formula.
You may have seen recent news in routeone about our expansion with long-term partner McGill’s. We’re really proud of the equal collaboration that has delivered us both long-term growth. That’s the power of our business model: we know what works, and we make it happen. We’re looking forward to sharing more exciting announcements in the coming weeks.
We made a bold statement when entering the UK market, taking a risk by launching during the pandemic, but it’ s paid off. We’re on a mission to be the largest express coach network in the country.
There will always be those who are sceptical, but we’ve proven our commitment to the UK market over the last few years. It takes time to become part of the establishment, but we are the world’s largest coach network because our model works. We remain committed to our strategy and believe we will succeed.
We know we’re just getting started, and that building the biggest network will take years of work and require hundreds of coaches. We need ambitious operators to join us here in the UK. Ultimately, small and medium businesses – like the majority of family-owned coach operators – are the lifeblood of a strong, effective economy. We believe that, with the right partners, we will build the UK coach industry for generations to come.
