so the strange thing about flixbus is that it runs a bunch of routes that take you between the same places as the trains can, in a less comfortable vehicle, and absolutely fucking hilariously slower.
For example gothenburg-stockholm is 3-4 hours by train and flixbus takes 6-7 hours.
Brussels to Amsterdam and back:
2h45 each way by Flixbus (about 5 min longer each way than the slow train, which has more stops)
<€20 on Flixbus; >€40 by train
Flixbus allowed Tor users to see schedules and fares until just recently. Now both Flixbus and Train vendors block Tor. The train ticketing sites are still a more shitty experience, at least in Belgium.
Buses are more reliable than trains. We never hear about road works disrupting the trip. But back when I used the train it was a regular shit-show of delays and cancellations because you cannot easily route around maintenance on the tracks.
So you pay at least €20 more to get there ~5 min faster. Or you can pay even double the slow train fare if you want to shave off ~30min using the fast train.
The buses often have Wi-Fi and power. Do trains? IIRC, it was quite rare for trains to have either.
see you’re talking about routes that are 5 minutes slower, that’s not what i’m talking about
Look at my example again, 7 hours vs 4 hours, that’s an insane time difference and i can’t imagine many people would choose the bus even if it has more amenities (which it doesn’t, the gothenburg-stockholm route is very high quality)
Scandinavia has those long-haul bus trips. I recall checking on a bus to Denmark. The time difference was substantial. In my case a flight made the most sense. But in any case, this is not a Flixbus issue generally. It’s the routes which are likely intended for shorter travel, like people getting on and off in just a small segment of the overall route.
Brussels to Amsterdam and back:
So you pay at least €20 more to get there ~5 min faster. Or you can pay even double the slow train fare if you want to shave off ~30min using the fast train.
The buses often have Wi-Fi and power. Do trains? IIRC, it was quite rare for trains to have either.
see you’re talking about routes that are 5 minutes slower, that’s not what i’m talking about
Look at my example again, 7 hours vs 4 hours, that’s an insane time difference and i can’t imagine many people would choose the bus even if it has more amenities (which it doesn’t, the gothenburg-stockholm route is very high quality)
Scandinavia has those long-haul bus trips. I recall checking on a bus to Denmark. The time difference was substantial. In my case a flight made the most sense. But in any case, this is not a Flixbus issue generally. It’s the routes which are likely intended for shorter travel, like people getting on and off in just a small segment of the overall route.