Court rules in favour of FlixBus in Portugal’s coach wars

Coach company FlixBus has won its case in a court against its rival Rede Expressos for the right to operate services from Lisbon’s main coach terminus.

The court ordered an end to the exclusion of FlixBus from Sete Rios Bus Terminus, but Rede Expressos claims that the court does not oblige FlixBus the automatic use of the Sete Rios terminus.

The Administrative Court of the Lisbon Circle ruled in favor of FlixBus in the case it brought against Rede Nacional de Expressos (RNE), ruling “the immediate granting of access to the Sete Rios Bus Terminus”, according to the decision.

Flixbus moved forward with the lawsuit in November, asking for “the applicant’s immediate granting of access to the Sete Rios Terminus (in Lisbon), under conditions of equality and non-discrimination compared to other operators”.

The court ruled “the immediate granting of access to the Sete Rios Bus Terminus, limited to the capacity (effectively) available at the terminal”.

The court decided that RNE must “indicate availability of docks and parking, specifying the quantity (effectively) available vs those occupied”, evaluate “each time slot requested by FlixBus, clearly indicating which times can be accommodated and which cannot, with objective justification” and “assign concrete stopping times according to the (effectively) available capacity, with the possibility of resorting to partial approval, without unjustified global refusal”.

It must also “clearly and self-sufficiently communicate the permitted times, without referring only to ‘websites’ or external documents” and justify “the decision based on concrete data on occupancy and capacity, always demonstrated at the time of the act, and not later”.

FlixBus estimated losses of €12.5 million in 2024 due to blocked access to the Sete Rios terminal, despite a decision by the regulator that recognises the multinational’s access, yet to be implemented.

In 2023, FlixBus filed a formal complaint against Rede Expressos with the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT) for refusing access to the Sete Rios terminus, operated by RNE and, in May last year, the regulator ruled for an equitable and non-discriminatory access to the coach station.

Rede Expressos, in turn, refused asserting that it would continue to refuse access to new operators at the Sete Rios Terminus where it holds the concession, arguing that it had reached the limit of its operational and physical capacity.

Source: Expresso. Credits: Hub Parking