After suspending travel for over two months due to the coronavirus crisis, Flixbus has announced it will restart its long-distance travel services from May 28. The company has developed a hygiene plan to keep its customers safe.
Flixbus will resume long-distance travel services in Germany from May 28, as well as operations in Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Denmark. Flixbus buses have been off the roads since March 18, but now a total of 26 buses will be back in operation for a total of 50 stops. Before the pandemic, the buses made ten times as many stops, but Flixbus is taking care to resume its services gradually.
Flixbus announced that, in addition to large cities like Berlin, Nuremberg, Munich, Leipzig, Frankfurt and Hamburg, it would stop at smaller cities across Germany, such as Bayreuth, Weimar, Himmelkron and Titisee-Neustadt.
Flixbus has developed a hygiene plan, aimed at keeping passengers safe while travelling. “We want to ensure safe travel even in these corona times,” said Andre Schwämmlein, managing director of Flixbus. Passengers will be required to wear a facemask and the buses will be disinfected after every journey; tickets will be checked without contact and a strict 1,5-metre distance rule will be upheld at all times, even at bus stops.
While bus toilets will remain closed for the time being, drivers will make regular stops at service stations. Passengers have also been urged not to travel if they are unwell or are exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.
With many travel firms struggling during the current crisis, many expected the price of tickets to skyrocket. However, Schwämmlein has assured customers that ticket prices will not rise, saying: “We assume we can maintain the price level we had before the crisis.”
Flixbus is also hoping to be able to resume its cross-border services soon: “We hope that a responsible European solution will be established in the next few weeks," said Schwämmlein. Flixbus previously called on the government to help the struggling bus industry.