Belle Vue Manchester invests £6 million to expand partnership with FlixBus

Credit: Belle Vue Coaches

Belle Vue Manchester has announced a £6 million investment in new vehicles as part of its partnership with the expanding FlixBus network. This move aims to enhance the operator’s service offerings and meet increasing passenger demand.

As part of this investment, Belle Vue has taken delivery of five new 53-seater coaches and has ordered 18 more, expected to join its fleet over the next year. The coaches are supplied through the UK distributor Pelican Bus + Coach.

Belle Vue began its collaboration with FlixBus in February 2023. It currently operates daily express services connecting Manchester with several cities across the north and the Midlands, including Leeds, Bradford, York, Newcastle, Stoke, Sheffield, Birmingham, Nottingham and Leicester. The company plans to increase service frequencies to and from Newcastle, York, Leicester and Birmingham, and to launch new daily services between Manchester and Bristol, with additional destinations to be announced in the future.

The new coaches are painted in FlixBus’s green livery and are equipped with amenities such as a Bosch entertainment system, USB charging points, power sockets, free Wi-Fi, mood lighting and real-time coach tracking updates.

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FlixBus launched its green coach service in the UK in 2021 and now serves over 60 destinations nationwide, with regular routes into continental Europe. FlixBus operates in 43 countries worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Chile and India.

Phil Hitchen, Managing Director of Belle Vue, said: “We are excited to be expanding our FlixBus offering with additional frequencies and new services.”

Andreas Schorling, Managing Director of FlixBus UK, said: “We have found a fantastic partnership in Belle Vue, with our network going from strength to strength together, bringing high-quality, affordable transport to cities across the country. The team at Belle Vue share our passion, vision and ambition to build the largest inter-city coach network in the UK so we are delighted they have announced this investment, which will bring brand new vehicles on to additional FlixBus services.” 

Belle Vue serves 2.5 million passengers annually across the UK and Europe, providing branded transport for the education and corporate sectors, private hire, touring groups and express inter-city services with FlixBus.