Millions drawn to new coach market
Around 2.5million travellers could use coaches this year, 20 times more than in previous years, after the industry was deregulated last summer.
Independent travel watchdog Arafer cited the figure compared to 110,000 in 2014, when long-distance coaches only operated on international routes.
The number of routes available since operators were allowed to offer domestic services on journeys over 100km has reached 734, covering 136 towns – and coach companies are continuing to develop their networks.
Shorter routes such as the money-making Paris Porte Maillot to Beauvais Airport link can also be offered, as long as the companies apply for authorisation from Arafer.
Price is the main attraction as coaches are the cheapest form of public transport. Government analysis body France Stratégie found the average fare was 4.5 centimes/km, cheaper by 6 centimes than car sharing and 10 centimes compared to train fares. The average fare was €12.
Many major towns are now connected and while only 13% of services start or end in Paris they are the most popular. The top 10 routes are from the capital to Lille, Lyon, Rouen, Nantes, Rennes, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Angers and Le Mans.
Arafer spokeswoman Nathalie Arensonas said: “Coach travel is complementary to the existing train services. It attracts a new public made up of occasional passengers, such as students and retired people, who have less money and more time and do not need a regular fast service as business people do.”
The main operators are Eurolines-Isilines (subsidiary of French firm Transdev), Flixbus (German-owned), Starshipper (French), Ouibus (run by SNCF) and Megabus (British).
Flixbus head Pierre Gourdain said: “The sector is exploding. We are about to put new lines into Brittany and think there is plenty of room for expansion. The advantages in France are good motorways and a big population looking for cheap travel.
“We welcome competition as the more routes there are in a town the more the public see it as a real transport option.”
Most new routes are over 100km as operators must obtain permission to launch shorter journeys to avoid competition with services such as regional council subsidised TER trains. (It has been suggested that private coaches might be attractive to some regions wanting to save on TER services, but there has been minimal interest so far).
The company is in talks with Arafer about getting a new route to cut costs at Paris Beauvais airport.
While passenger figures have increased dramatically, coach travel remains a comparatively marginal choice as the numbers of passengers in the first six months represented just 1.9% of long distance train passengers and on average just 32.4% of seats were filled on each journey.
