After a break of more than two months due to the spread of coronavirus, budget bus firm Flixbus has announced it will start running again from May 28th. The company announced that it will also be back in service in Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Denmark.

A total of 26 buses will be on the road again, initially making almost 50 stops, the German market leader announced on Friday May 22nd. Before the crisis there had been 10 times as many stops, however businesses are gradually taking steps to open up again.

Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, the buses have been stationary since March 18th. Competitors like Blablabus and Pinkbus have not yet announced when they will resume services.

Aim for safe travel

“We want to ensure safe travel even in these corona times,” Flixbus managing director Andre Schwämmlein told DPA.

A hygiene plan has been developed:

• Buses are to be disinfected after each journey
• A safety distance of 1.5 metres applies at bus stops and when getting on and off.
• Tickets are checked without contact, while disinfectant is available

As is the case with train journeys, however, seats will not be blocked off, Schwämmlein said. “This is not economically feasible,” he said.

But passengers must wear face masks during the entire journey, and bosses have urged passengers not to travel if they are unwell or have coronavirus symptoms.

Meanwhile, there's good news for customers: Schwämmeln said trips should not get more expensive. “We assume we can maintain the price level we had before the crisis,” he said.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about travelling in Germany this summer

Toilets will not open

Besides large cities such as Berlin, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main and Munich, smaller cities such as Bayreuth, Himmelkron, Titisee-Neustadt, Weimar and Wolpertshausen will also be on the routes, Flixbus announced.

Toilets will remain closed on the bus as a safety measure. However, bus drivers will regularly take passengers to service stops, the company said.

Many travel firms are struggling in the face of the coronavirus shutdown.

However, Flixbus bosses believe the firm can get through it. “We will survive this crisis,” said Schwämmlein.

In 2019 Flixbus carried more than 62 million passengers worldwide. This year the company hopes to continue to expand its services. There's currently no date for when the Flixtrain will be available again.

Flixbus is counting on being able to operate cross-border services again soon. “We hope that a responsible European solution will be established in the next few weeks,” said Schwämmeln.

READ ALSO: Germany aims to lift warning against worldwide travel from mid-June

Meanwhile, the company supports demands by the bus industry for state aid. “Everyone can survive three months, but we must consider how to help in the next 12 to 18 months,” said Schwämmlein. “Otherwise many won't survive.”

German Transportation Minister Andreas Scheuer, of the centre-right CSU, recently announced aid of around €170 million for the bus industry.

Vocabulary

Safety distance – (der) Sicherheitsabstand

Disinfected – desinfiziert

Not economically feasible – wirtschaftlich nicht darstellbar

Price level – (das) Preisniveau

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