SNCF subsidiary tops coach market

SNCF IS No1 for trains and long-distance coaches as its OuiBus subsidiary topped the French market for coach travel last year after selling half its tickets at heavily discounted rates – in some cases as low as €1.

The company – started by SNCF in 2012 under the name iDBUS – carried 267,000 passengers between August and December. This placed it ahead of Isilines, which reported 250,000, and German operator FlixBus with 162,000.

Despite economic reforms introduced by economy minister Emmanuel Macron last year, in opening up the long-distance travel market, the industry is still not profitable and operators have been forced to sell tickets at extremely low fares, with some journeys costing as little as €1.

OuiBus and FlixBus both said half their fares fell into this category, while Isilines said 70% of its seats were sold at such rates.

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