FlixBus denied this Friday the information advanced by Rede Expressos that the German company had postponed the start of its operation at the Sete Rios Bus Terminal. In a statement, FlixBus states that "it is absolutely false that there was any postponement" and accuses the rival of the Barraqueiro Group of "distortion of facts" and "bad faith" from the beginning of the process.
The German company argues that it always informed Rede Expressos that it needed a minimum period of 20 days, after the definitive confirmation of access to the terminal and the correction of the capacity declarations, to make the necessary changes to its systems and prepare the transfer of the operation. According to FlixBus, the final confirmation from Rede Expressos regarding the 23 services to transfer in this first phase only arrived on Wednesday at 8:30 PM, following a meeting between the two companies promoted by the Authority for Mobility and Transport.
FlixBus also revealed that it was only at that meeting that one of the nine ticket offices at the Sete Rios terminal was ceded to it, after Rede Expressos demanded that its own employees sell the German company's tickets. The German company guarantees that it will continue to defend "effective" access, under "equitable", "transparent" and "non-discriminatory" conditions at the terminal, until the court decision and AMT ruling are fully implemented.
The 23 services currently authorized represent only 1.9% of the terminal's capacity, which has space for at least 1,200 daily services. Rede Expressos had previously stated that FlixBus could already operate in Sete Rios since August, but FlixBus argues that it still needed to obtain the mandatory licenses and resolve the logistical issues with the rival.
