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Summary of our market study
The French market for regular passenger road transport is estimated at over €5 billion, while that for on-demand transport and tourist coaches is estimated at over €2.1 billion.
The global coach and bus market will reach €49 billion by 2024.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp drop in average annual coach mileage in France, which fell to 20,818 km in 2020, with a recovery in subsequent years.
The French coach market is dominated by a duopoly of FlixBus and BlaBlaCar, with FlixBus holding the majority of daily departures, from 61% to 66% in 2022. Average occupancy rates improved in 2022, and the sector posted sales figures that exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
Trends in the French coach market
The French coach and bus market underwent profound changes with the 2015 Macron law, which liberalized the long-distance coach market, leading to increased competition and the emergence of freely organized coach (SLO) services.
Since the law came into force, the market has experienced strong growth. Between 2011 and 2023, the French coach fleet grew slightly, by around 4%.
The French coach market is affected by a shortage of drivers, with a deficit of between 7,000 and 8,000 in January 2023. The number of drivers varies between 104,000 and 105,000. Men make up around three-quarters of the driver population.
The market is divided into different segments: urban and on-demand transport, school transport, self-organized coach transport and tourist/occasional transport.
The SLO market is dominated by Flixbus, with 65% of the market, and BlaBla. The number of marketed routes over 100 km has fallen from 1,525 in 2019 to 1,201 in 2020, rising to 1,291 in 2022.
The overwhelming majority of the fleet (97%) is diesel-powered, but gas and electric coaches and buses are becoming increasingly common.
Market players
- FlixBus and BlaBlaCar international players
- Transdev, Keolis major French players
- Transarc, Autocars Chauchard, regional players
- Daimler Buses France, formerly known as Evobus France, assembles Mercedes-Benz buses from structures imported from Germany.
- Van Hool, Dutch leader
- Heuliez Bus, specialized in electric buses.
- Iveco Bus, formerly Irisbus and associated with RVI, has an industrial base in Annonay, Ardèche.
- Bluebus, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group and a key supplier to the RATP, provides a technological edge in 6 and 12-meter electric buses.
- Safra in Albi, Tarn, hydrogen-powered mobility solutions.
- Ebusco has the capacity to produce 500 electric buses a year.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and presentation
First of all, it's important to note the difference between a coach and a bus. Thebus is used to transport passengers within a city or between neighboring suburbs, while the coach allows passengers to travel from one city to another. In France, coach travel can be segmented into several offerings: urban and on-demand transport, school transport, freely organized coach transport and tourist/occasional transport.
In France, coach travel has become more democratized in recent years, particularly since the Macron law in 2015 liberalized the market for coaches in freely organized service, offering the French a multitude of national and international destinations available from Hexagone with prices often more attractive than that of train or plane.
The global coach and bus manufacturing market is dynamic, with an estimated CAGR of 6% to 2027. If the number of buses and coaches manufactured grows, this suggests a growing demand for coach and bus transport.
The French coach market is also enjoying positive momentum, with sales rising by 17. 2% between 2022 and 2023.
1.2 The global bus and coach market
Our study will focus primarily on the coach market, although no figures are available for the global coach market, although bus and coach sales figures are available.
The Business Research Company estimates the size of the market at $**,***.* million in ****. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of *% to ...
1.3 The French market
According to Insee, the French coach market is divided into two activities: scheduled passenger road transport and other passenger road transport. Both markets showed overall growth over the periods analyzed, despite a drop in sales during the global pandemic.
Sales growth in scheduled passenger road transport France, ****-****, in thousands of ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Demand typology
Coach customers are mainly made up of * segments:
Individuals Schoolchildren Tourists (***) Works councils/associations.
French people's opinion of the coach France, ****, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, % Source: ****
The majority of French people(***) have a rather good opinion of the coach, suggesting an overall positive perception of this mode of transport. In addition, **% of respondents expressed a ...
2.2 School bus transport
School transport is designed to meet the need for pupils to travel between home and school. Consequently, the transport offer must be adaptable to the specific needs of each region, which are known by the educational establishments and the decentralized services of the national education authority.
In France, nearly **,*** coaches are ...
2.3 French people who want to travel
The changing expectations of the French, reflecting a growing desire to travel and explore new horizons, opens up encouraging prospects for the coach market. This appetite for travel offers a unique opportunity for coach operators to meet growing demand by offering flexible, affordable and convenient solutions for both local and international ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Value chain
Source: ****
Coach manufacturers sell their coaches to various market players: urban transport, on-demand transport and school bus operators (***) and SLO coach companies such as Flixbus. These players then sell a service to passengers, transporting them from point a to point b.
3.2 Number of coach companies and number of employees
Number of establishments registered under the activity "****A Transports routiers réguliers de voyageurs" and under the activity "****B autres transports routiers de voyageurs" France, ****-****, number of establishments Source: ****
Combining the two activities, the total number of establishments registered in these specific road passenger transport sectors fell from **** in **** to ...
3.3 A market affected by a shortage of drivers
In January ****, there was a shortage of between *,*** and *,*** bus drivers in France[***].
The shortage of bus drivers can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, other industries sometimes offer more attractive working conditions or career opportunities. In addition, being a bus driver can be a demanding job, with irregular hours, time ...
3.4 No French coach or bus production, but assembly plants in France
Coachbuilding in France has declined considerably. Many French coachbuilders have closed down or stopped producing buses and coaches (***), and most minibuses, minicars and coaches are now imported. These vehicles for the French market are often assembled in countries such as Turkey, Germany, Poland and Spain, before being imported into France.
However, ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 The coach fleet in France
Evolution of the coach fleet France, ****-****, in units Source: ****
Between **** and ****, the graph shows a generally stable number of coaches over this period, with minor fluctuations and an overall positive trend. Indeed, between **** and ****, the number of coaches in France increased by *.**%. The peak in coach numbers was reached in ...
4.2 Market organization
The coach travel market is organized around several offers, so the coach fleet would be divided into * offers:
4.3 Freely organized coach services
Since the adoption of the Macron law in ****, regular long-distance transport of more than *** kilometers by coach has been liberalized in France. This service is referred to by the acronym " SLO ", for " Services de transport Librement Organisés ".
This mode of transport enables public road passenger transport companies to offer inter-city ...
4.4 The coach: a "green" alternative to other means of transport
The rise of environmental concerns has led to a re-evaluation of transport choices, highlighting the growing importance of sustainable mobility solutions. In this context, coaches are emerging as a particularly attractive alternative, offering a favorable ecological balance compared to other modes of transport. Indeed, coaches offer a number of significant environmental ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Liberalization of the long-distance coach market with the Macron law
On August *, ****, the "Macron law" opened up the possibility for all companies to operate regular intercity coach services. These services can be freely marketed or discontinued if all the stops they serve are more than *** kilometers apart. If a company wishes to operate a service between two stops that are less ...
5.2 Regulations governing drivers' working hours
Regulations concerning drivers' working hours are very important to ensure their safety and that of their passengers. Below are the main guidelines concerning working hours, working time, breaks and rests, as well as specific rules governing daily driving and rest periods for drivers.
Working hours : Working hours represent the period between ...
5.3 The Mobility Orientation Act
The Loi d'orientation des mobilités, enacted on December **, **** and published in the Journal Officiel, marks a significant transformation in mobility policy. Its main objective is to make everyday transport more accessible, economically advantageous and environmentally friendly.
To meet these challenges, the law is based on * pillars:
Investing more and better ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Player segmentation
Coach transport players can be divided into * segments: Urban transport/on-demand transport/school transport, tour operators who organize tourist trips and excursions, and SLO coaches:
- Transdev
- Keolis
- Flixbus
- Transarc
- Faure transport
- Groupe Salaün
- BlaBlaCar
- Heuliez Bus
- Van Hool
- Iveco Bus
- Wrightbus
- Autocars Chauchard
- Safra
- Retrofleet
- Green Corp Konnection GCK
- Yutong Bus
- BYD
List of charts presented in this market study
- Sales trends in the coach and bus market
- Evolution of the coach fleet
- Coach fleet by fuel type
- Evolution of the coach fleet by seating capacity
- Bus fleet by Critair label
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Latest news
BYD: the meteoric rise of the Chinese auto giant - 26/03/2024
- - Sales growth: +42% over the past year.
- - Total sales**: 76.8 billion euros.
- - Number of cars sold: 3.02 million last year.
- - Increase in car sales**: +62% year-on-year.
- - Ranking among the world's leading automakers**: 10th.
- - Sales outside the People's Republic**: 242,000 units
- - Market share of 100% electric vehicles in China**: 25% by 2023.
- - Increase in profits**: +81% last year.
- - Total profits**: 3.83 billion euros.
- - Registrations in Western Europe**: 23,300 units in February, down almost 30% on December and January.
Van Hool, the Belgian bus manufacturer on the brink of bankruptcy due to a family affair - 26/03/2024
- - Carrying capacity of the all-electric bi-articulated bus presented by Van Hool: nearly 140 passengers.
- - Number of bi-articulated buses ordered by the Ile-de-France transport authority: at least 56 units.
- - Amount required for Van Hool's financial restructuring: 45 million euros.
- - Number of jobs lost under Van Hool's restructuring plan: 1,100 out of a total workforce of 2,500.
- - Number of 24-meter bi-articulated buses for the Tzen 4 line: 30.
Transdev yields to the lure of international business - 20/03/2024
- -Total sales in 2023: up 21% to 9.33 billion euros
- - Share of business in France in 2023: 29.3% of sales, versus 35.2% in 2022
- - Acquisition of First Transit in the United States: adds 1.1 billion in sales
- - Share of US business in 2023: 25%, versus 15% last year
- - Investment in France in 2022: 135 million, rising to 250 million in 2023
- - Net profit: stable at 20 million euros
- - Change in network ridership after the health crisis: France virtually equivalent to pre-Covid (-2%), Germany +15%, Ile-de-France -9% compared to 2019, Netherlands -20%, Stockholm region -16%, United States -25%
Flixbus deploys to take advantage of the Olympic Games - 02/01/2024
- Flixbus operates in 41 countries
- Flixbus sales in 2022: €1.5 billion
- Flixbus market share in the French long-distance coach market: 66%
- Main competitor: BlaBlaCar Bus (34% of the market)
- Coach load factor: nearly 75%
- Demand growth forecast for 2024 (Olympic Games in Paris): 30% to 40%.
Tarn-based Safra steps up hydrogen mobility and plans to create 400 more jobs in Albi - 25/11/2023
- Investment in the extension of the Albige site: 7.4 million euros.
- Amount committed to industrializing the Businova H2 and developing a new hydrogen-powered intercity bus: 29 million euros.
- Number of additional jobs expected by 2023: 400.
Transdev's plan for the Marseille-Toulon-Nice TER line - 24/11/2023
Opening up regional trains to competition
- The new train will run on the Marseille-Toulon-Nice line from July 2025.
- Transdev's ridership objectives: to increase annual passenger numbers on the Marseille-Toulon-Nice line from 3.4 million to 5.5 million in the medium term.
- The region has written Alstom a cheque for 250 million to purchase sixteen Regio 2N Omneo trainsets, and will pay Transdev 50 million a year to operate the line and another 50 million to build a new rolling stock maintenance site in Nice.
- The Caisse des Dépôts subsidiary, which will operate the route for ten years (2025-2035), will provide 15 round trips between Marseille and Nice, twice as many as today.
- Two Regio 2N Omneo trainsets attached to each other will offer 800 seats, including 100 on folding seats, compared with 600 today.
- transdev is beginning to build up its team, which will comprise 180 to 200 employees to operate this line.
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