Podcast
Flixbus buses have been running again since March, and more and more trains under the Flixtrain brand are on the rails. Co-founder Daniel Krauss speaks in an interview about vaccination quotas, the expansion to Brazil – and the upbringing of his son.
Daniel Krauss had just returned from Berlin for a few days in his Franconian homeland, when he took the time to talk. After about 20 minutes, however, he was interrupted by his two-year-old son who was in the playground or “look at something” wanted to. He promptly took Henry on his lap – the scene is reminiscent of Trivago CEO Axel Hefer, whose son came in on a CNN recording.
Krauss spoke spontaneously about his son and his upbringing – he and his wife are expecting a daughter in a few weeks. A good set of values, free development, no drill “in a private school” – His children should go their own way, said Krauss. That leads to a “certain resilience in this very complex world”.
Krauss founded Flixbus with Jochen Engert and André Schwämmlein in 2011 and built it up into Europe’s largest long-distance bus operator within a few years. In 2015 the company ventured into the USA, since 2018 Flixmobility, as the company has been called since 2016, has also been offering train travel under the Flixtrain brand. The founders are currently planning to enter the Brazilian market.
“Where there is a lot of vaccination, we see more demand”
The pandemic also hit Flixbus hard. “Twice it meant that we had to completely shut down the network in Germany.” That was a moment, reported Krauss, in which one “first thinks: is this real or am I dreaming?”
The buses have been running again since March and the company is in a state of the art “different speeds”. Like multitasking, said Krauss. Flixbus is expanding, wants to attack even more on the rails and raised fresh money in June, a total of $ 650 million – and was thus valued at $ 3 billion. That “Bus country Brazil” one wants to conquer.
On the other hand, the company is not running at full capacity, at the end of July it reached 75 percent of its former capacity, around 270 stops in Germany and a good half in Europe. “We are still a good sip from 100 percent because we can still feel this corona veil”, said Krauss, who as CIO is primarily responsible for IT and software development. The more people vaccinated, the more they would travel. “The quota really matters”said Krauss. “Where there is a lot of vaccination, we also see more demand.”
Listen in
- What plans FlixBus has in Brazil
- What triggers the $ 3 billion valuation in Daniel Krauss
- Where the three founders ritually meet to forge plans
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Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
