# FlixBus In the Southern U.S



## NativeSon5859 (Mar 22, 2019)

FlixBus has recently started service connecting San Antonio, Houston, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Biloxi.

Next month, they are adding a direct San Antonio - Austin - Dallas route as well as an overnight Fort Worth - Biloxi route via Shreveport, Alexandria, New Orleans, etc.

I’d expect them to eventually add service east of Biloxi... could we see another coast-to-Coast bus service in the U.S? 

I’m trying them out next week and will post a few pics.


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## railiner (Mar 22, 2019)

NativeSon5859 said:


> .. could we see another coast-to-Coast bus service in the U.S?



While I would really love to see that...I seriously doubt that would happen, the way the industry has been going in the last couple of decades.
I hope I am wrong, and that it does happen.


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## trainman74 (Mar 25, 2019)

Had to check to see if they were named "Flixbus" because they showed movies on board, or because their fleet consisted of old Flxible buses. (Apparently the answer is neither one.)


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 25, 2019)

As one who Actually rode the Long Dog across the US back in the day,( San Diego to New York City), I ask Why would someone want to do that now when Amtrak can get you there! 

No contest IMO!!!


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## railiner (Mar 26, 2019)

Why would they? Could be for a number of reasons, but on the same token, why would anyone take Amtrak, either, when they can fly, faster, cheaper, more often, and more reliably?


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## NativeSon5859 (Mar 26, 2019)

Take NOL-HOS. Amtrak does it 3X weekly, and it takes 9 hours if on time, for $45 one way. You now have FlixBus, up to 3X daily starting in June, with 5h30m trip times and prices starting at $5. 

I think we’ll see further eroding Amtrak market share between these cties. 

The same can probably be said of San Antonio-Dallas. 8 hours, $29 on Amtrak. FlixBus is 5 hours for $5. 

The train will be a tough sell for most in markets like this unless you just can’t stand bus travel.

If we see more regional adds by FlixBus in areas that only see long-distance Amtrak service, I think that will be a problem for Amtrak.


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## jis (Mar 26, 2019)

Bob Dylan said:


> As one who Actually rode the Long Dog across the US back in the day,( San Diego to New York City), I ask Why would someone want to do that now when Amtrak can get you there!
> 
> No contest IMO!!!


I think the reason that I did a Greyhound Ameripass in my student days rather than Amtrak hasn't changed. It was cheaper and was the only thing I could afford traveling on the ground to see the country.


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 26, 2019)

I did mine while in the Navy, travel pay and per diem weren't enough for the Train or to fly!

Arrived into NYC as a Zombie, but did get to see every Greasy Spoon on the Route and lots of Small towns wasting away!

I miss the Unlimited Rail Pass that was good on VIA and Amtrak, but those days along with Greyhounds "Go anywhere" are long gone!

Mega Bus is really good for Short and Medium Length trips, Amtrak cant compete!


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## railiner (Mar 27, 2019)

Amtrak, outside the various corridor's, really only appeals to a small 'niche' market, who ride the train mainly for the experience itself, and are not deterred by the unreliable timekeeping. As a viable 'transportation' alternative, the long distance train is otherwise a hard sell...


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## jis (Mar 27, 2019)

railiner said:


> Amtrak, outside the various corridor's, really only appeals to a small 'niche' market, who ride the train mainly for the experience itself, and are not deterred by the unreliable timekeeping. As a viable 'transportation' alternative, the long distance train is otherwise a hard sell...


And yet many thousands of people use it all the time as transportation. Could it be better? Of course. But it is a false argument, if one were making such, that the LD trains are irrelevant as transportation. Note that I am not necessarily suggesting that such an argument is being made by all regarding LD trains. But those that are making it are plain wrong. - IMNSHO of course.


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## railiner (Mar 28, 2019)

Agreed...certainly not 'irrelevant', but those 'thousands' that use it as transportation only, represent a miniscule fraction of the total number of traveler's using air and road...


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## jis (Mar 28, 2019)

railiner said:


> Agreed...certainly not 'irrelevant', but those 'thousands' that use it as transportation only, represent a miniscule fraction of the total number of traveler's using air and road...


Those that use NEC Amtrak trains are also a very small fraction of those that use air+road+commuter rail on the corridor. So what? Discontinue the Amtrak trains, and let MARC, SEPTA, MNRR, SLE and MBTA do the honors?


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## railiner (Mar 28, 2019)

Apples and oranges...


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## railiner (Mar 28, 2019)

Amtrak NEC is a very viable choice in its market...fast, frequent, convenient, and reliable...


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## jis (Mar 28, 2019)

railiner said:


> Amtrak NEC is a very viable choice in its market...fast, frequent, convenient, and reliable...


So your considered position is exactly what? That the LD network should be discontinued? Just trying to figure out what is the bottom line.


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## Eric S (Mar 28, 2019)

Amtrak's market share in these markets can't be much more than a rounding error. And Megabus already operates in some of these markets.

It may well be that Flixbus ends up taking a bit from Greyhound and Megabus but increasing the overall intercity bus ridership in these areas.


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## jis (Mar 28, 2019)

But hasn't bus service pretty much collapsed in the deep flyover country? The bus lines are basically present just in cherry-picked areas that are convenient to them and has little to do with transportation needs overall of the general public. And that is to be expected if the government simply avoids any social responsibility for providing services in the area of transportation to taxpayers.

I actually wonder sometimes how the Brits have managed to maintain a relatively dense bus network even in sparsely populated areas. Of course Scotland is a special case of government taking responsibility for providing energy efficient public transport services. Witness the recent rapid electrification of the railways and conversion of buses to hybrid/alternative fuel.


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## NativeSon5859 (Mar 28, 2019)

Tried out FlixBus from NOL to HOS this morning. $4.99. Clean, comfortable, wi/fi was fast, outlets worked. Brand new bus. Pretty good experience overall. The driver just scans the barcode and you board and go. The only en route stop was Baton Rouge. Overall trip time including a bit of traffic was 5h40m. The stops are just parking lots in the downtown areas but the signage is good. I caught an Uber from my house. Still a new service so not very crowded, but the driver said it’s catching on quickly. 

Having trouble with uploading photos but if I get it to work I’ll post some pics.


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## railiner (Mar 30, 2019)

jis said:


> So your considered position is exactly what? That the LD network should be discontinued? Just trying to figure out what is the bottom line.


No one said that...
The long distance network, as it presently exists, does provide a transportation alternative for a few, myself included, but it's really just a token accommodation. Unless the market and/or public opinion demand that government pay for it's expansion into a truly viable alternative, it will just languish on for the foreseeable future... JMHO


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## railiner (Mar 30, 2019)

jis said:


> But hasn't bus service pretty much collapsed in the deep flyover country? The bus lines are basically present just in cherry-picked areas that are convenient to them and has little to do with transportation needs overall of the general public. And that is to be expected if the government simply avoids any social responsibility for providing services in the area of transportation to taxpayers.
> 
> I actually wonder sometimes how the Brits have managed to maintain a relatively dense bus network even in sparsely populated areas. Of course Scotland is a special case of government taking responsibility for providing energy efficient public transport services. Witness the recent rapid electrification of the railways and conversion of buses to hybrid/alternative fuel.


Your assessment of the current state of intercity bus in North America, is spot on. The carrier's do "cherry pick" only the viable markets.
And they compete fiercely for a share of those markets. That is one of the unfortunate results of bus deregulation. In the past, the ICC granted interstate franchises that protected carrier's from such competition, and in return, those carrier's were forced to operate money losing branch lines that were 'cross-subsidized' by the more lucrative routes. In a few cases, the ICC did allow more than one carrier to operate a major route, if they thought it was warranted. The carrier's were also regulated in the fares they charged, to protect the public from being 'gouged'. The fares were 'fair'...based on mileage, rather than on supply and demand as they are now. And the carrier's were able to pay their employee's a decent wage, and maintain decent terminals...


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## jis (Mar 30, 2019)

What is interesting is that politicians from all sides swear by the idyllic rural hinterland (a fantasy) and then work diligently on economic policies that hasten the exodus to the cities, hastening the destruction of said idyllic fantasyland. This is reflected in transportation policies, and will be more so as money runs short for maintaining the overbuilt highway system too. Already started to happen in places like Texas and Oklahoma.


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## NativeSon5859 (Apr 19, 2019)




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## railiner (Apr 20, 2019)

Thanks, NativeSon for those nice photo's...did you ride? How about a brief trip report?
I am curious about the seats that can be "adjusted toward the aisle"...how does that work, I've never heard of anything like that...wouldn't that restrict movement in the aisle?

Also of interest...the note promoting tipping the driver. I have never heard of such a suggestion by a bus line before.


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## NativeSon5859 (Apr 21, 2019)

I’ve ridden it twice now. The round trip to Houston that I mentioned earlier, and then two weeks ago, I did Biloxi-San Antonio-Austin. 

The buses are new and comfortable. None had the sliding seats as mentioned on that info sheet. The tipping thing is interesting, but the drivers didn’t announce it. Maybe it’s more common in Europe? 

One nice thing compared to Greyhound is that there are no hour long stops at 2am where they kick everyone off the bus. It just rolls the whole time, and the stops are brief. On the Biloxi-SAT run, you could technically get off for a few minutes in NOL and HOS but that’s it. The BTR stop is just for a couple of minutes. 

On the SAT-AUS portion it was day #1 of service so I was the only rider! Had a whole coach to myself. Interesting experience. 

The stops are basically all in parking lots near the downtown areas or on a curbside near transit centers. That’s good and bad, I guess. I do like the idea of stations, but there must be a lot of cost associated with that. 

I’m taking them again on Wednesday - doing Houston to Fort Worth to New Orleans - all of that for $10 with the promotional pricing.


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## NativeSon5859 (Apr 21, 2019)




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## joelkfla (Apr 21, 2019)

Seating looks a bit tight, especially on knee room. Is it on par with Amtrak coach?

Did the seats in the earlier photos have leather trim, and the latest ones not, or was it just camera angle? Did it make a difference in comfort?

And was that a trash bag hanging from the seat back? I wouldn't want to be in the seat behind it!

Have you been on MegaBus or RedCoach? How do they compare?


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## Willbridge (Apr 21, 2019)

NativeSon5859 said:


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So far, GL has not changed service to directly respond to Flix. but over the past several years they have been working to rid themselves of intermediate stops and large terminals, while upgrading their website sales and putting new buses into service. This is an indirect response to the "curbside" carriers. However, having stations that can handle walk-ins puts them first in line when authorities or charities want to move people. For example:

GREYHOUND ADDS SERVICE TO HANDLE MIGRANT RUSH

Greyhound Lines service changes in recent years have mainly been reductions,
but now the flood of migrants being dropped off at Greyhound stations has
resulted in a build-up of the already well-served transcontinental corridor
through El Paso, Texas. Following a pattern previously seen during energy
and other crises, the biggest demand increase has occurred on the heaviest
traveled routes. Amtrak's sporadic service through El Paso and border towns
is showing random effects, while the new Flixbus service in the Southwest is
not showing a spillover.

Since March 6th, the veteran bus operator has added:

* Dallas - El Paso - Los Angeles round trip
* Dallas - Atlanta round-trip
* Dallas - Nashville round-trip
* Dallas - El Paso - Phoenix two round-trips
* Dallas - El Paso round-trip

Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and Nashville are hubs in the Greyhound Lines
network offering numerous onward connections.


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## NativeSon5859 (Apr 21, 2019)

joelkfla said:


> Seating looks a bit tight, especially on knee room. Is it on par with Amtrak coach?
> 
> Did the seats in the earlier photos have leather trim, and the latest ones not, or was it just camera angle? Did it make a difference in comfort?
> 
> ...



Legroom was pretty comparable to Greyhound. Less than Amtrak, though. 

Yes, actually all the buses I’ve been on had different seats. All of the seats themselves were very comfortable with a good seat cushion. Biloxi - San Antonio was 10h20m and I was not uncomfortable at any point in the trip. 

The drivers put those new trash bags out so people can dispose of anything they have with them. The buses were very new and clean so I guess this a way of trying to keep them that way. 

I’ve been on Megabus a few times. I think FlixBus is a more comfortable ride. Also the drivers I think are more professional on FlixBus. I’d say they are kind of similar, but I prefer FlixBus.

Curious to see where they’ll expand next.


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## v v (Apr 22, 2019)

NativeSon5859 said:


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Thought that last photo was fabulous, thanks


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## Anderson (Apr 25, 2019)

NativeSon5859 said:


> Take NOL-HOS. Amtrak does it 3X weekly, and it takes 9 hours if on time, for $45 one way. You now have FlixBus, up to 3X daily starting in June, with 5h30m trip times and prices starting at $5.
> 
> I think we’ll see further eroding Amtrak market share between these cties.
> 
> ...



So, a few things:
(1) FlixBus doesn't have any on-board catering (something that's an issue on longer trips).
(2) What's the seat pitch?
(3) Does FlixBus stop anywhere en route (pax stops, not possible food stops)?


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## Devil's Advocate (Apr 25, 2019)

NativeSon5859 said:


> The tipping thing is interesting, but the drivers didn’t announce it. Maybe it’s more common in Europe?



In my experience there is no place on earth that is more in love with arbitrary tipping culture than the USA.




Anderson said:


> 2) What's the seat pitch?



Yeah, "comparable to Greyhound" doesn't really mean that much to those of us who never rode Greyhound in the first place.


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## dogbert617 (Aug 18, 2019)

railiner said:


> Thanks, NativeSon for those nice photo's...did you ride? How about a brief trip report?
> I am curious about the seats that can be "adjusted toward the aisle"...how does that work, I've never heard of anything like that...wouldn't that restrict movement in the aisle?
> 
> Also of interest...the note promoting tipping the driver. I have never heard of such a suggestion by a bus line before.



That part about tipping the driver strikes me as super weird, what the heck? I've never once seen or heard of any bus drivers tipped, myself. And this is coming from someone who understands why you tip wait staff at restaurants, as they're paid less than the minimum wage.

Thanks for your writeup on Flixbus, though. Sounds like they're operating in a way, that's similar to Megabus(low cost, and few intermediate stops to pick up passengers on the way if any, i.e. Baton Rouge).


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## Asher (Aug 19, 2019)

Devil's Advocate said:


> In my experience there is no place on earth that is more in love with arbitrary tipping culture than the USA.
> 
> Have you ever been to Mexico?


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## Devil's Advocate (Aug 19, 2019)

anumberone said:


> Have you ever been to Mexico?


Many times. I tipped in the exact same way I would in the US, which is ludicrous when you consider we're comparing one of the poorest countries with one of the richest. The aspects where Mexico differs aren't really tips so much as bribes and kickbacks.


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## Asher (Aug 19, 2019)

"The aspects where Mexico differs aren't really tips so much as bribes and kickbacks."

Cab drivers, service personnel. Come on!


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## Devil's Advocate (Aug 20, 2019)

anumberone said:


> "The aspects where Mexico differs aren't really tips so much as bribes and kickbacks." Cab drivers, service personnel. Come on!


Cab drivers what? Service personnel who? No tiendo innuendo. When I visit Mexico I tip the same as in the US and never ran into any problems. If they were unhappy or expected more they never let on about it.


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