German company Flix Mobility has acquired America’s best-known bus company, Greyhound, for $172 million. At least for now, Flix will maintain Greyhound’s network of 2,400 destinations across North America.
Flix, which started as a discount bus operator in Europe and also runs some trains in Germany, has been running buses under the FlixBus USA brand on routes focusing on the Southwest since 2018, and has also expanded to some routes in the South, Northwest and Northeast.
Flix says the acquisition will help it “be better able to service the needs of intercity bus travelers in the U.S. Intercity bus lines were a lifeline during the pandemic for communities and essential workers, and as economies re-open, they will be a tremendous driver for sustainable growth across the company.”
Flix is acquiring the company from British operator First Group, which has been leaving overseas markets to concentrate on financial stability at home. Greyhound has passed through a number of hands since its heyday.
While air travel has largely replaced inter-city bus service on true long-distance routes, it remains an important option between regional cities and connecting smaller cities to airline hubs. On some dense routes, especially along the Boston-New York-Washington corridor, it is still one of the major means of travel. Unlike on many lower-volume routes, on that corridor it is the cheapest way to go.
