The move, which will also see the creation of more than 30 new jobs, comes as the French Government finalises plans to modernise the country's coach market later this year.
Two megabus.com services a day have now commenced operating in each direction between Barcelona, Perpignan, Montpellier, Avignon, Lyon, Mulhouse, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Frankfurt and Cologne.
Fares on every journey start from just €1* and tickets are on sale now at www.megabus.com. According to the megabus website "For travel on the first five days of the new services (3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 June), all tickets will be priced at €1"
Brand coaches offer free Wifi, power sockets and a toilet. Pick-up and drop-off stops are in city centres or near convenient transport links.
The new route will offer direct megabus.com services between France and Germany for the first time and marks the latest expansion of the company’s network, which now covers around 130 destinations across Europe.
French cities Lyon, Perpignan, Montpellier, Avignon and Mulhouse are new locations on the megabus.com network, opening up direct low-cost connections from these destinations to Spain and Germany. Domestic journeys will be possible in Germany, allowing people to travel between Cologne, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe and Freiburg.
megabus.com uses bigger coaches carrying up to 87 people, providing more seats than other operators. This results in a low cost per passenger and keeps fares down.
As part of the latest expansion, megabus.com is creating 35 jobs at a new operating base in, Belleville-sur-Saône, north of Lyon. Seven vehicles will be parked, fuelled, cleaned and maintained at the base under a partnership with local company Autocar Maisonneuve. The coaches, which were manufactured b Van Hool, represent an investment of more than €3million.
megabus.com Managing Director Edward Hodgson said: “Our high-quality services are opening low-cost connections for people across Europe and we are delighted to establish a new base in Lyon with its central location in France.
“We are serving several locations in France for the first time. It will give local people access to a large network of megabus.com services across Europe and help boost tourism. We are the only coach operator in Europe to offer €1 fares on all services across all routes.”
megabus.com, part of Stagecoach Group in Scotland, has operated since 2003. It expanded from the UK to North America in 2006 and has served mainland Europe since 2012.
Major destinations on the network include London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Toulouse, Barcelona, Brussels, Lille, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg. Earlier this year, megabus.com launched a Paris-Toulouse service and also recently added Strasbourg to its network. In addition, the company now operates a domestic network, covering 13 locations, in Germany.
megabus.com carries more than 15 million passengers a year across Europe and North America. The number of passengers using the company’s growing coach network in Europe is up more than 60% in the past year. The current average fare on the megabus.com network in mainland Europe is less than €15.
Currently megabus.com operates mainly international routes in and out of France due to “cabotage” rules which restrict coach links between destinations wholly within the country. megabus.com supports recent moves by the French Government to liberalise the coach market and changes are expected to be introduced later this year.
Edward Hodgson added: “Modernising the outdated rules for coach services in France can give a huge boost for consumers, with more choice and lower fares. Our experience from the UK is that this benefits all public transport, with coach services flourishing at the same time as the country has the fastest growing rail network in Europe.”
megabus.com offers French, German, English, Spanish and Dutch language websites. Services are popular with families, students and tourists looking to save money on travel and spend extra on entertainment when they arrive at their destination.
All megabus.com drivers undertake a detailed operational and customer service training programme. It includes route familiarisation and driving assessments and is part of an EU standard qualification for professional bus, coach and lorry drivers. megabus.com ensures full compliance with relevant EU working time legislation and has stricter maintenance standards than legal requirements as part of its commitment to safety.
