Some 45,000 lives have been lost in the last 15 years due to 39,000 fatal traffic accidents. One in four occurred in the last four years, which shows the persistence and worsening of the problem. This has happened despite the fact that the State, during that time, allocated more than S/1,159 million to the Superintendency of Land Transportation of People, Cargo and Goods (Sutran) to supervise transportation and contain the tragedy on the roads.
The curious thing is that, currently, there is a private initiative whose business model can contribute to confronting the problem, but which so far has not received a license from the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) to operate.
This is the case of FlixBus, a company that provides medium and long-distance passenger transportation services by bus in Europe and the United States. Pablo Pastega, vice president for South America, Spain and Portugal of the company, commented that a year ago the company established itself in the country as part of its commitment to the South American region.
And for several weeks they have been in talks with the MTC so that, together with local transport partner companies, they are allowed to operate interprovincial transport lines following the safety standards required by Peruvian regulation and even higher ones, established by FlixBus’ own policies. However, so far they have not received a response.
“It has been difficult for us to obtain authorizations in several terminals in different cities in Peru. And right now we do not have, and we do not understand why, the authorization from the MTC to operate bus lines,” Pastega told Peru21.
Promotes formalization
FlixBus’ business model promotes formalization because it works in collaboration with local transport companies, of which just over 90% in Peru are informal. The company offers know-how, network development and planning, authorization and terminal management, customer service, marketing, as well as line control and accounting. Meanwhile, transportation companies are in charge of managing the fleet and drivers under FlixBus standards.
The model was developed more than 13 years ago in Europe and, progressively, it has been expanding in that continent, in addition to the United States and Canada. Two years ago it arrived in Chile and the plan is to grow in the Peruvian market. Currently, FlixBus operates in more than 45 countries and maintains collaboration contracts with more than 1,000 bus companies.
“Our intention is to provide our partners and Peruvians with new tools to guarantee the maximum possible security in the interprovincial market. The member companies strictly follow the quality and driving standards that we set,” commented Pastega.
The executive indicated that in Chile they have managed to develop a network that connects more than 50 cities in the country, with the help of 12 Chilean companies and a fleet of 200 buses. This operation has generated around 700 direct and indirect jobs.
Pedro Massoud, president of the Chilean company Transporte FB, which operates with FlixBus in Chile, stated that the company’s entry made it possible to democratize the transportation service and promote competition in that country, which has resulted in cheaper tickets, greater efficiency in the sector and greater access for the population to the service.
According to the businessman, a disadvantage of small transport companies compared to large ones in Chile is the marketing of tickets, for example, and with FlixBus they managed to overcome that limitation, facilitating both the purchase of tickets and connections.
“We, as operating partners, buy the buses and deliver them to them so that they can define the schedules and routes. They pay us a fixed part per kilometer and, after that guaranteed minimum, we are partners in the difference, because we receive a percentage,” Massoud explained.
Pastega pointed out that this year alone FlixBus and its partners in Chile have invested six million dollars.
Other advantages
On the other hand, Pastega indicated that the FlixBus business model also results in the creation of wealth by generating employment and offering transportation lines at affordable prices in the countries in which it operates.
“We are waiting for the license and we understand that, in the end, the MTC will realize that FlixBus seeks to generate wealth and that, therefore, there is no reason not to grant us authorization,” he stressed.
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