Germany's long-distance bus services continue to grow

Germany has experienced a revolution in long-distance buses in recent years. While such services have been common in most European countries for decades, they only took off in Germany in 2012. Bus companies were actually prohibited from competing with German railways from 1934 until January 1, 2013, when the market was liberalised.

Since the services were given the green light, they have continued to gain traction. By 2018, there 287 long-distance bus routes in total across Germany, an increase on 2017's 246. So far, 2015 represented the high point for the industry when there were 328 routes operated by a host of companies such as FlixBus and Eurolines.