TRASPOL and CheckMyBus report shows that south-south and south-central routes are the most searched routes in the first half of 2017

Nuremberg/Milan, Oct. 25, 2017 - Analysis by CheckMyBus and TRASPOL covering the first half of 2017 shows that overall prices per km are higher in 2017 than in the previous year. The price trend according to the distance of the relationship is decreasing up to 800 km. The number of transactions recorded on CheckMyBus increased compared to 2016, with a preponderance for southern and south-central routes.

Since 2016, the industry has undergone major changes with FlixBus' purchase of all European megabus operations, including the Italian market. In early 2017, another change was added: Ferrovie dello Stato launched its own long-distance passenger transport company, Busitalia Fast, merging with Calabrian incumbent SIMET. This has resulted in an increase in the catchment area, while the offer is still evolving strongly.

The analysis on gender research sees the female component prevailing slightly with 56 percent of the observed sample, a figure in line with the 2016 results. This shows how the bus is considered a safe and reliable means of transportation. At the conclusion of the first half of 2017, the CheckMyBus platform recorded a number of tickets searched (referring only to long-distance services throughout Italy) of almost 11 times the quantities of January 2016, when many companies were not yet present and the platform itself was less well known.

With regard to the most searched routes, the greatest growth is in the south-south routes but especially in the central-south routes, which are not only growing explosively but are also dominant in absolute value and therefore constitute the real news in this semester's data.

The phenomenon could be due to a variety of factors, chief among them the preponderance of the historical market rooted especially in the south, where rail service historically has a less competitive offer, and road transport has a greater appeal to travelers. In summary, it is confirmed that the historical market maintains its importance, with south-south and south-central relations gaining even more weight than in the past, accounting for up to 53 percent of searches as of June 2017. This fact is important because it shows that the historic relationships have not shrunk with liberalization in favor of potentially richer markets and have in fact continued to grow.

Rome, Milan and Naples are the main hubs by number of tickets searched. At the same time, it is possible to analyze the market segments in which CheckMyBus is most present: domestic routes dominate the total number of clicks generated.

The data of greatest interest regarding price analysis tells us, first and foremost, that in March and April 2017, prices increased "anticipating" a typical summer trend. The following months saw this effect amplified. Secondly, the most searched routes are shorter and therefore characterized by higher prices per km. This confirms that on average, the shortest and most frequent relations, total some of the highest average prices per km (center-center 0.073 €/km) and with significant price variability. In contrast, the North-South relations record the lowest average price per km ever (0.034 €/km) with a rather small variance over time (0.014 €/km).

In terms of tickets searched on our platform, there are no significant differences between new entrants and incumbent Italian operators. This represents an important result of liberalization, which has prompted incumbent companies to join innovative commercial channels to capture new demand in addition to the incumbent customers who already know and use traditional channels (ticket offices or travel agencies) to purchase tickets.

CheckMyBus, the international long-distance bus search engine shows real-time departures and prices in more than 60 countries. With more than 620 bus companies and millions of weekly departures, customers can have access to a virtual network of bus connections around the world. Tickets and more information at www.checkmybus.it, also available as an app for iOS and Android.

TRASPOL is part of the DAStU (Department of Architecture and Urban Studies) of the Politecnico di Milano. The Laboratory is involved in research, training and consulting in the field of transport and infrastructure, particularly the relationship between public planning, economics and regulation. TRASPOL has been studying the long-distance bus market in Italy and abroad since 2011, in the broader context of long-distance passenger transport (rail, air). More information: www.traspol.polimi.it

The entire report is available for download on the respective websites of TRASPOL and CheckMyBus.

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Websites: www.checkmybus.it, www.checkmybus.co.uk, www.checkmybus.de, www.fernbusse.de, www.checkmybus.com, www.checkmybus.fr, www.checkmybus.es, www.checkmybus.at, www.checkmybus.ch, www.checkmybus.nl, www.checkmybus.pl, www.checkmybus.com.br, www.checkmybus.pt, www.checkmybus.com.mx, www.checkmybus.com.ar, www.checkmybus.cl, www.checkmybus.cz, www.checkmybus.hr, www.checkmybus.com.tr