FlixBus will reopen lines from Budapest to Kyiv

The company has also launched a free ride offer for refugees moving from Poland or Romania to the rest of Europe

Last week, the coaching company FlixBus announced that it will reopen its lines going into Ukraine. The new routes will go to and from Kyiv, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Uman, Khmelnytsky, and Ternopil on the Ukrainian side, into Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The company has also said that it will reopen the Kyiv-Budapest route on 28 April.

The move came as a result of the number of people going back to Ukraine growing by the day, especially after the Russian army pulled back from the Ukrainian capital.

At the same time, the company will provide up to 1,000 free tickets for Ukrainian refugees trying to make their way to the rest of Europe from several key cities near the border. These include Suceava and Tulcea in Romania and Przemyśl and Rzeszów in Poland.

A changing tide

Nearly two months ago, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine kicked off, millions of people left the country westwards to escape the violence. They fled by car, plane, train and by bus.

However, as the violence escalated, a lot of private transport companies had to cut their passenger routes, due to the fact that they could not guarantee the safety of travellers. This, however, is changing, and so is the flow of people – from going away to coming back.

FlixBus, for example, cancelled their Ukrainian routes on 24 February, instead deciding to provide additional buses from Poland and Romania. Now, the company says it is safe enough to re-launch routes into Ukraine itself. Apart from the relatively short routes that launched last week, FlixBus has said that on 28 April, they will open a direct route from Budapest to Kyiv.

Free tickets for people fleeing the war

In a move quite reminiscent of what European rail and other transport companies announced at the start of March – waiving travel fees for Ukrainians, FlixBus has decided to provide help to those fleeing the conflict.

The free rides, however, have fixed starting points in both Romania and Poland, cities that have become impromptu refugee transit hubs. They include Suceava and Tulcea in Romania and Przemyśl and Rzeszów in Poland.

To apply for a free ticket, send your request via this e-mail address: service@flixbus.com.ua. The request needs to contain all the below information:

• E-mail title: UKRAINE (necessary to proceed with the request);
• DEPARTURE CITY (Przemyśl / Rzeszów / Suceava / Tulcea) - ARRIVAL CITY, date and time of departure (connections to be checked on the company website);
• Name and surname of the traveller;
• Phone number;
• E-mail address (VERY IMPORTANT: the ticket will be sent to the address provided).