“It’s a dream bus market for us,” said Pierre Gourdain, CEO of FlixBus North America, about entering Toronto with three fancy green buses to launch in Ontario. This may sound like encouraging words for bus passengers and transportation supporters who felt abandoned when Greyhound left Canada in May 2021. The sleek silver dog has been lame for years, saying many licensed routes were unsustainable before the pandemic stripped down of any market left by the Greyhound.
Experts say the arrival of FlixBus, which operates in 37 countries and serves more than 2,500 destinations, is good news for bus customers, but it is unclear whether it will help unserved communities and whether private bus companies can create a national bus network without state support.
“Given the catastrophic state of the industry and the poor level of service we have in the country, this is a really complex question,” said Jean-Baptiste Litrico, associate professor of strategy at Queen’s University Smith School of Business in Kingston, Ont. .

Starting small in the big Ontario market

In essence, FlixBus is a technology company that works with local bus companies that own coaches and hire drivers. It provides an application and a ticketing website, a pricing structure, route planning and marketing, charging a commission of 25 to 30 percent on sales.
The FlixBus plan is to create lucrative high-volume routes between Ottawa and Toronto, Niagara Falls and Toronto and Waterloo and Toronto before developing lower demand routes.
The company is moving to Canada after the country’s largest province opened the intercity bus industry to competition last summer. Deregulation in Ontario gives FlixBus and other carriers access to routes Greyhound could not follow when it was here.
Pierre Gourdain, CEO of FlixBus North America, says Canada is a “dream” market for the company. Here he stands in front of the passengers boarding the company’s first bus in Toronto. (James Dunne / CBC)
Flix is ​​also researching customer demand and demographics, and according to Gourdain, several key factors make Ontario and Quebec a “dream bus market” for the company. Gurden said both provinces have “crazy large student populations” and many foreign students, who are frequent bus customers. The company also sees potential customers in about 30 percent of Toronto households that do not own cars, and Gourdain believes their ticket app will attract large numbers of Canadians shopping online.

Where next? Not small towns

This summer FlixBus plans to launch cross-border routes to the US from Ontario and BC. The next priority will be to obtain a license to operate in Quebec, where regulation remains a barrier to market access. The company is in no hurry to build a national network or reach out to under-served communities, although some smaller destinations may come later. Gourdain said all carriers are struggling to recover from the pandemic and FlixBus is no different. “We are still at 50 to 70 percent, in terms of demand, compared to pre-COVID,” he said.
According to the American Bus Association, which tracks industry in both the US and Canada, nearly 24 percent of bus operators fell in 2020, and by 2021 revenue was still 62 percent below 2019 levels. Gourdain also said the company is likely to develop many U.S. markets, including Nashville, Tenn., And St. Louis. Louis, Mo., before looking west at the cities of Prairie, Canada. “You start Tier 1 first, so be patient with us,” Gourdain said.

Who will go to cross-country?

Several regional airlines have retained and even tried to expand their services in recent years to various parts of the country.
Saskatchewan-based Rider Express is trying to cover much of the country. “We are trying our best to provide a national service,” said company owner Firat Uray.
After launching two large trucks on a Regina route to Saskatoon in 2017, the Rider Express has grown to 20 buses, with plans to add five more as soon as possible. Saskatchewan-based Rider Express is trying to provide a national service, says company owner Firat Uray. Guests can travel from Vancouver to Toronto. (James Dunne / CBC)
Using the Rider Express and Ontario Northland Partner, customers can travel all the way from Vancouver to Toronto. It also has a number of itineraries in the western provinces. It is not an easy task, he said.
“Some routes we make money, some routes we do not make money and these two routes cover each other,” Uray said.
“So this is how we work.” Uray said he did not imagine FlixBus would deal much with Prairie. “I do not think they will rule these small towns,” he said. However, they will be rivals on the Toronto-Niagara route, which is also being started by the Rider Express.

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Can this new player in the Canadian bus business help the industry turn for the better? 1:55

Access to underserved areas

FlixBus also connects with other bus companies, selling their tickets on its platform. But cooperation alone will not solve the problem of serving sparsely populated areas in such a large country. In Canada, Litrico said, “it’s a problem we see over and over again, in some key public services, not just transportation.” Jean-Baptiste Litrico, an associate professor of strategy at Queen’s University Smith School of Business in Kingston, OD, says Canada needs to find a way to provide a fair level of intercity transportation. (submitted by Jean-Baptiste Litrico)
With FlixBus valued at more than $ 3 billion and having bought Greyhound’s operations in the US last year, it is not seeking government support. Gourdain said aid should go to small businesses to create more jobs.
Uray said the government could help with fuel costs for pilots in small malls or by “buying small trucks for local bus companies” in underdeveloped rural areas. Regardless of the approach, Litrico said governments should consider “how to protect and maintain the level of services that is fair.”