Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionParis Charles de Gaulle Airport,

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

, and Turin. The route network is expanding progressively. BlaBlaCar Bus has three major hubs; Paris-Bercy, Lyon-Perrache, and

Lille-Europe Lille-Europe station () is a SNCF railway station in Lille, France, on the LGV Nord high-speed railway. The station is primarily used for international Eurostar and long-distance SNCF TGV services, although some high-speed regional trains also ...

. Founded in 2012 by

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

, in November 2018 it was announced that it would be purchased by

BlaBlaCar BlaBlaCar is an online marketplace for carpooling headquartered in Paris. Its website and mobile apps connect driving, drivers and passengers willing to travel together between cities and share the cost of the journey, in exchange for a Commiss ...

and rebranded as BlaBlaBus.

History

iDBUS was launched on 23 July 2012 with services to Amsterdam, London, and Brussels from the original hub at Paris-Bercy. A domestic service between Paris and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

was launched on 29 August 2012. A second hub was created at Lyon-Perrache on 17 December 2012 to launch Milan and Turin destinations. On 23 May 2013, iDBUS began operating services between Marseille and

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and Milan. On 28 April 2014 iDBUS launched a service from Brussels to Amsterdam, London and

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport, is the primary international airport serving Paris, the capital city of France. The airport opened in 1974 and is located in Roissy-en-France, northeast of Paris. It is named for ...

. On 1 December 2014, iDBUS started operating into Germany, with a service from Paris to Brussels,

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

and Cologne. From 15 June 2015 iDBUS expanded further in the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

region, with Rotterdam and Antwerp added to the network. On the same date, a London to

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

route started. On 3 September 2015, iDBUS was rebranded Ouibus. In July 2016, the Starshipper business was purchased. In February 2018, Ouibus entered a partnership with ALSA and

National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...

. In November 2018, it was announced the business would be purchased by

BlaBlaCar BlaBlaCar is an online marketplace for carpooling headquartered in Paris. Its website and mobile apps connect driving, drivers and passengers willing to travel together between cities and share the cost of the journey, in exchange for a Commiss ...

.SNCF to sell Ouibus to BlaBlaCar in multimodal partnership
''

Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a British monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by tran ...

'' 13 November 2018 Entering the German market in 2020, BlaBlaBus became the first major competitor of

Flixbus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...

since that company had achieved a nigh-monopoly in the German long-distance bus market through market consolidation, mergers and acquisition of competitors.

Accident

On 10 April 2022, an accident happened close to Antwerp, Belgium. Two occupants of the bus were instantly killed, whilst several others were left in a life-threatening condition. The driver of the bus tested positive for drugs just after the accident. Police also stated that the driver of the bus was known for drug offences in the past.

References

External links

Official website
{{SNCF Group, state=collapsed International bus transport in Europe SNCF companies and subsidiaries Transport companies established in 2012 2012 establishments in France 2018 mergers and acquisitions