European coach firm Flixbus announces UK launch with Portsmouth one of its destinations

Flixbus will run four routes, all starting in London, as it launches its first domestic routes in the UK on Thursday, with extra precautions in place to counter coronavirus.

Initial routes will include London to Portsmouth, Bristol, Guildford and Birmingham with fares starting from £2.99.

It marks a delayed launch in Britain for the bus giant, which had originally been intending to start running its four routes earlier this spring before the pandemic paused its plans.

Now the UK will be part of a network that sees 400,000 daily connections to 2,500 destinations across 32 countries - with plans to take several million customers across Britain in the first 12 months.

The company says hygiene and safety are of the highest priority with every coach being disinfected before each ride and undergoing thorough cleaning.

Passengers will have to wear masks - as will drivers when away from their seat. The row immediately behind them will be kept clear and only half of the remaining seats will be sold to help keep a safe distance between passengers.

Andreas Schorling, managing director Flixbus UK, said: ‘With the lockdown restrictions easing, people will want to start travelling to see family and friends, go back to university or college or travel for work and we will offer a safe, comfortable and affordable way to do this.

‘On top of that, travelling by coach is the greenest way of travelling in Britain. As we are partnering with local firms, we will also be giving a boost to businesses that have been hit hard by Covid-19.

‘To start with, we will be connecting London, Birmingham, Bristol, Portsmouth and Guildford to Europe’s largest intercity bus network, with more UK cities to come.

‘This is just the beginning – we have great plans for Britain and aim to grow to market leader by 2025.’

Since launching in 2013, the bus company has managed to more or less dominate Germany, grabbing a 90 per cent share of the long-distance bus market in the first four years of its existence.

The rapid expansion has been largely down to Flixbus's model which is comparable to ride-hailing app Uber with the operator not owning any coaches itself. Instead it outsources the running of its services to smaller local businesses.

Flixbus says it wants to be competing against British incumbents including National Express and Megabus.

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