Flixbus to expand its services in the summer – launching new routes within Finland

Green Flixbus company bus. — A Flixbus bus is leaving Vaasa for Helsinki.

The first Finnish buses will change to Flixbus colours by the summer. The company plans to operate several times a day from Helsinki to Tampere and Turku during the summer.

Flixbus plans to introduce new options for travelling between Finland’s major cities.

Initially, the company plans to increase services from Helsinki to Turku and Tampere. The aim is for Finnish bus companies to start operating routes within Finland in Flixbus colours in the summer.

The company is currently negotiating with five bus companies to join the Flixbus network.

In Turku, buses would run all the way to the port, in which case cruise schedules would also be taken into account in their schedules.

According to Leman, the company also calculates that transversal routes in Finland are profitable. Initially, the company’s cars could operate from Turku via Tampere to Jyväskylä.

Based on the number of passengers on the route between Rovaniemi and Helsinki, it is also possible to start a long-distance night bus service.

– We have long routes in Central Europe where people travel at night and at the same time avoid staying in hotels. The same could work in Finland.

The picture shows the interior of a FlixBus bus. The coach has seats with individual backrests, green curtains on the windows and some passenger amenities such as a toilet and a mobile phone charging socket. The picture was taken from the back of the bus towards the front, and shows the aisle and several rows of two seats. — Flixbus buses are decorated in the same way inside. The space between the seats can be widened for overnight journeys, making it easier to sleep.

A difficult start to the year

According to director Michal Leman, the beginning of the year has been difficult for bus travel. Due to the weak booking situation, the company has also canceled flights to Finland.

However, based on the booking situation, the company anticipates that travel will recover. Increasing the number of shifts also increases travel, as travel times are more suitable for travel within Finland as well.

Flixbus started operations in Finland in the summer of 2023 by opening a route from Vaasa via Turku to Helsinki and on to Warsaw in Poland.

Buses are being moved to Finland

According to Leman, it is impossible for Finnish operators to get new buses in Flixbus colors to Finland in a few months. Delivery times for new buses have been extended to over a year.

Therefore, buses are to be moved to Finland from Central Europe. It is possible because all the companies that signed the cooperation agreement use the same buses.

Local bus companies are responsible for route traffic, and Flixbus is responsible for route planning, ticket sales and pricing.