BlaBlaCar ends BlaBlaCar Bus, its coach service

Bad news for BlablaCar Bus users. The company announced on Tuesday a plan to stop its coach transport service, which would leave its rival in France, FlixBus, without competition. “BlaBlaCar announced today a plan to cease its activity as a bus operator in France operated under the BlaBlaCar Bus brand. This project responds to the structural economic difficulties that BlaBlaCar is experiencing in this activity,” the carpooling platform indicated in a press release.

“The project would result in the elimination of 40 positions” directly, but must put an end to “recurring and significant operating losses,” added the company. These lines are operated by subcontractors who find themselves in uncertainty. “BlaBlaCar intends to strengthen its role as a marketplace [plate-forme de vente] in France by supporting independent coach partners who would like to operate these lines,” explained the group. He said ticket sales and connections were continuing.

18 million passengers in 2024

This carpooling platform, launched in the 2000s, had diversified into coaches by purchasing Ouibus from SNCF in 2019. In August 2025, BlaBlaCar Bus indicated serving 350 destinations in France and other European countries, and praised the “growing success of the connections”, with 18 million passengers in 2024 for it and its competitor, FlixBus. But the low prices necessary to make this means of transport attractive, initially favored by a young and less fortunate clientele, make the economic model precarious.

BlaBlaCar Bus thus has two thirds of customers aged under 35. Its busiest line is Paris-Lille, where competition is strong with the TGV, which is much faster and more expensive. The professional organization of the sector, the Organization of European Road Transporters (OTRE) expressed in a press release its “deep concern”. “This decision, both sudden and unexpected, could, if confirmed, lead to major consequences, in particular for around sixty carriers who operate lines on behalf of BlaBlaCar Bus,” added OTRE.

This organization wants “total transparency on the timetable and terms of this project” and “reinforced support for partner carriers, in order to secure their activity and employment”. The coach connection market was completely liberalized in France in 2015 thanks to the law for growth, activity and equal economic opportunities, supported by the Minister of the Economy Emmanuel Macron.