The mobility revolution is reshaping the way people commute in Europe. There is a slew of new and innovative options for consumers and it creates numerous opportunities for many transportation companies. As a result, companies operating in the mobility industry in Europe are unleashing new ways to capture the market.
Founded by Frédéric Mazzella and Nicolas Brusson in 2006, Paris-based mobility startup BlaBlaCar is pushing its boundaries further to disrupt the mobility sector in Europe with its carpooling platform. In a recent move, the company announced its plans to acquire Busfor, a leading online bus ticketing platform in Russia and Ukraine.
Biggest acquisition by BlaBlaCar
With the acquisition of Busfor, BlaBlaCar will be able to expand its online inventory of third-party bus operators in the region where the latter has over 25 million users among 80 million registered users. This acquisition comes after that of Ouibus in 2018 to introduce its own branded bus service dubbed BlaBlaBus in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The company’s CEO and co-founder Nicolas Brusson said, “This is the biggest acquisition in BlaBlaCar’s history and Busfor is the region’s leading bus distribution company with over 150 employees. Connecting our significant online demand with Busfor’s supply will help travellers and bus operators alike, so we’re incredibly excited to be joining forces.”
Why this ticketing platform?
Busfor is a ticketing platform that has teamed up with 7,000 bus carriers. With the acquisition of this platform, BlaBlaCar will access part of the inventory of a $4 billion industry. It has been made clear that BlaBlaCar will not operate directly as a bus carrier in Poland, Ukraine and Russia as bus booking is yet to go online in these countries.
Post acquisition, Busfor will retain its own brand, consumer app and product offering. It will integrate its supply of bus journeys into the platform of BlaBlaCar and help bus carriers grow their customer bases and create the bus experience for travellers.
Aims to build multi-modal transport network
With this acquisition, BlaBlaCar’s global strategy aims to build a multi-modal transport network offering buses and carpooling on a single platform and respond to a great diversity of requirements of its consumers. Buses will be able to cover popular roads at affordable prices and can be booked in advance. And, carpooling offers a unique granular network connecting any destination at an affordable price even at the last minute.
The company aims to propose complementary mobility solutions that will help both carpoolers and bus operators fill up their vehicles with its appealing offer for travellers.
Main image picture credts: BlaBlaCar
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