Global coach brand FlixBus adds first Welsh partner to its UK network

A Valleys bus and coach operator has become the first in Wales to join a German coach company’s UK network.

Bella Road Services (BRS) in Pontyclun has partnered with Munich-based FlixBus to operate services from London to Heathrow Airport and Cardiff, as well as a new stop at Newport.

Operating since 2016, BRS is the first coach company in Wales to join FlixBus’s network which already has a major presence in mainland Europe.

It is the fourth coach operator in the UK to announce its partnership with FlixBus in the last month, following Berrys in Somerset, Roselyn Coaches in Cornwall and Hearn’s in Greater London.

Chief executive of Bella Road Services Sergio Alves said: “We are extremely proud to be selected for this partnership with FlixBus. We are taking seriously our responsibility to ensure FlixBus customers get the best coach travel experience possible. We’ve seen what FlixBus has achieved around the globe and are excited to join the network at this early stage to help support the same growth in the UK.”

He added: “Our family run company is growing rapidly thanks to our amazing team. They are the front line of our business, and they have stepped up to help us grow at pace.”

FlixBus UK managing director Andreas Schorling said: “Bella Road Services has quickly established itself as an ambitious and high-quality coach operator, so we’re really excited to develop the partnership as we continue to invest in Wales as a key growth area on the network.”

He added: “With summer just around the corner, and with it increased consumer demand, our strategy to add key partners on our network has been successful to reinforce our intention to become the UK’s leading coach brand. The partnership with BRS marks an important moment, as we position ourselves as a contender in yet another market.”

FlixBus first started in 2013, operating its own technology development, network planning, operations control, marketing and sales, quality management and continuous product expansion.

It launched into the UK market in 2020 with four new routes between London and Birmingham, Bristol, Guildford and Portsmouth.

The firm bills itself as Europe’s biggest provider of intercity coach travel and, pre-lockdown, was offering 400,000 daily connections to 2,500 destinations across 32 countries.

In 2018, it launched the first green long-distance trains, as well as a fleet of all-electric coaches. In the same year, parent company Flix launched FlixBus USA and Canada.