Is the cheapest way to travel around Europe also one of the greenest?

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Want to slash your travel footprint? Swapping your usual budget flight for an overland adventure is the way to go.

Trains are on the up in Europe, with new routes linking countries across the continent. But with many cities hit by strikes and high prices, some travellers are turning to other forms of group transport.

“Collective travel is always better for the environment than a plane or car,” Andreas Schorling, managing director of FlixBus UK, tells Euronews Travel. “It’s also cost-effective.”

We spoke to Andreas about how FlixBus went from a small German startup to Europe’s fastest-growing coach company.

What are FlixBus’ routes?

FlixBus emerged in 2011 as a competitor to long-distance coach companies like Eurolines and Megabus.

It now serves over 5,000 destinations in more than 40 countries.

With the largest bus network in Europe, it crisscrosses the continent, serving Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Turkiye, Ukraine and – most recently – the UK.

It’s not just the major cities, either. Check out the company’s interactive map for all the places you could explore.

FlixBus and its partners also operate in North America, South America and Asia.

“Over 81 million passengers travelled to over 5,600 destinations with FlixBus, FlixTrain, Greyhound and Kamil Koc in 2023,” all owned by parent company Flix SE, says Andreas. “Last year was our most successful year to date, surpassing €2 billion in revenue.”

How much does it cost to travel with FlixBus?

Central to FlixBus’s success is its ability to offer cheap tickets – with some journeys priced as low as £2.99 (€3.50).

“Collective travel, which transports many people at once, is cost-effective,” says Andreas. “This means at FlixBus we can offer tickets at really affordable prices for our passengers.”

In the UK, they’re already the fastest-growing coach network, with London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow being some of their most popular destinations.

Across Europe, Berlin, Paris and Brussels are some of the most in-demand cities.

How do the CO2 emissions of coach travel compare to flying?

FlixBus’s vibrant green coaches are hard to miss. But their eye-catching hue isn’t just a publicity stunt.

Flix made sustainability one of its founding principles – and its international routes help passengers slash their carbon emissions as well as their travel costs.

“All our UK coaches are Euro 6 standard, the lowest emissions possible,” says Andreas.

Coach travel’s emissions stand the test when compared to cars or planes. “Passengers avoided more than 800,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2022 alone just by choosing Flix services over cars or planes,” Andreas continues.

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The company calculates that, in Europe, its buses emit 26g of CO2-equivalent per passenger per kilometre. This is around 16 per cent less than travelling in an average combustion engine car on the same route, according to the German Environment Agency (UBA).

The carbon savings are even better when it comes to travelling flight-free. “A FlixBus journey reduces CO2 emissions by nearly 90 per cent as the emissions of a flight on the same itinerary,” Andreas adds.

What’s it like travelling with FlixBus?

Despite its cash and CO2-saving credentials, there’s no denying that coach travel lacks the glamour of going by train or plane.

“[It’s] perfect for budget travel, but really one of those experiences where it’s best to just zone out and not think too much about the trip – it’s just a means to an end,” says one Reddit user on the r/solotravel subreddit.

Many travellers agree that “it’s the cheapest way to get around” and say that there are air-con and USB charging points available onboard – and sometimes wifi, too.

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During Germany’s ongoing transport strikes, passengers are turning to FlixBus. “Thanks @FlixBus You are the only reliable form of transport,” said one X user on 12 March, when both train and airport workers were on strike.

Though being shielded from major strikes makes FlixBus more reliable, some passengers say they would not rely on the company if they are on a tight schedule. This mostly comes down to road traffic, scheduled stops and varying break times.

“I drove with them 5-6 times and 80% of time bus was late,” says one Reddit user.

“Plan with sufficient buffer (or if you have no particular schedule) and there won’t be any problems,” advises another.

This is not everyone’s experience, however.

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“I took it from Split, Croatia, to Budapest, and never had a problem… it was clean, cheap, on time, and spacious,” one Reddit user says.

“I’ve used Flixbus in Germany twice, from Freiburg to Friedrichshafen and then Friedrichshafen to Munich. Both times the bus ran to schedule and I enjoyed relative comfort on board,” says another. “It’s cheap and cheerful, and putting your bags on and getting them off is absolute chaos, but I would definitely recommend Flixbus to you as a good value way of travelling around Europe,” they add.

Are electric coaches on the horizon?

Coach travel could be about to get even greener for some European travellers.

“We’re so excited to be trialling the first long-distance coach service in England and Wales, the first to test the feasibility of electric vehicles in this market,” Andreas tells Euronews Travel.

They’re carefully monitoring loading and charging times and vehicle maintenance to assess whether the pilot can be rolled out to a wider market.

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“We are optimistic and will await the results of the trial with great anticipation,” says Andreas.

The company is also testing alternative drives and fuels, such as biofuels, hydrogen and electricity, to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral in Europe by 2040.

“We don’t think there is a ‘magic bullet’ or one definitive technology for carbon-neutral long-distance coach travel,” says Andreas.

“Instead, we expect a mix of technologies will be the answer: we’ve tested alternative fuel and drive technologies with pilots in Europe and the USA over the past few years, from battery electric buses to Bio-CNG and Bio-LNG; biodiesel to solar panels.”

Flix also has plans to launch a hydrogen-powered long-distance coach, in partnership with Germany’s Freudenberg Fuel Cell e-Power Systems and ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

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