Munich-Based Startup FlixMobility Ready for Train and Bus Resurgence in Europe
Photo Credit: A Flixbus in Hamburg. FlixMobility
Skift Take
A soft brand, FlixMobility is like an Oyo for bus and rail. That's why it had a $2.4 billion valuation going into the pandemic. A CEO interview suggests the startup's asset-light model could prove resilient.
Intercity buses and trains this week are pulling out of European stations once again. FlixMobility, a German company that has run FlixBus intercity buses since 2013 and FlixTrain rail service on select European routes since 2018, is revving its engines.
The Munich-based startup is resuming and launching intercity bus and rail service on Thursday and Friday in France, Italy, and Sweden as part of a phased reopening.
"The advantage bus and rail has on sustainability will fuel our growth as we bring up our networks again from the east coast of Turkey to the west coast of the U.S.," said André Schwämmlein, a co-founder and co-CEO of FlixMobility along with Jochen Engert.
Before the pandemic, investors valued the startup at about $2.4 billion, according to Reuters when it raised a reported $561 million in a Series F round in 2019. Its backers included General Atlantic — whose previous travel investments included Airbnb, Priceline, and Uber.
The pandemic has postponed the sta
