Lisbon, Nov. 6, 2025 (Lusa) - FlixBus has estimated losses of €12.5 million in 2024 due to the lack of access to the Sete Rios terminal in Lisbon, despite the regulator's decision recognising the multinational's access, which has yet to be applied.
The information was given on Thursday by the general manager of FlixBus in Portugal and vice-president for Western Europe, Pablo Pastega, at a meeting with journalists in Lisbon.
The German multinational, which entered Portugal in 2017, recorded a turnover of €90.6 million last year, so the estimated losses from what it calls the “illegal blockade” of access to the Sete Rios terminal, “the largest and most important” in the country, represent almost 15%.
"This represents huge economic damage for FlixBus, but it also affects passengers, who are forced to travel in worse conditions than they should," said Pablo Pastega, accusing Rede Expressos (majority owned by the Barraqueiro group) of a "monopoly".
In 2023, FlixBus lodged a formal complaint with the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT) for refusing access to the Sete Rios terminal, operated by Rede Nacional de Expressos, and in May this year, the regulator ordered fair and non-discriminatory access to that infrastructure.
The AMT considered that "the exhaustion of the terminal's capacity has not been proven and the existence of available capacity has been confirmed", and that the manager must therefore "provide access to the terminal, within the available hours, which cannot be denied, to all operators who request it", pointing out that violations of these rules "constitute administrative offences".
"At the same time as they are denying our requests, we are noticing an increase in services operated by Rede Expressos," denounced FlixBus, giving the examples of the Caldas da Rainha (Leiria district) and Fátima (Santarém) terminals.
The transport company, which operates in Europe, the United States and Asia, said it didn't understand how, six months later, the decision had still not been effectively implemented, and stated that "Lisbon is the only European capital where it doesn't have access to the city's main terminal".
"If we have to go to the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union to comply with an AMT decision, we will, but we would like the Portuguese authorities to take action," said Pablo Pastega.
This morning, the company held a symbolic action for free mobility in Sete Rios, with around 50 people dressed in the brand's colours and carrying luggage.
For 2026, the company plans to continue expanding and connecting district capitals outside the Lisbon-Coimbra-Porto axis. It is already adding destinations that previously lacked express service, such as Vila do Conde (Porto) and Mealhada (Aveiro).
One of the big bets for next year will be in Leiria, where a new public terminal will allow FlixBus almost to triple its operations.
"With Sete Rios, we have more options for growth. At the moment, our growth capacities are limited," Pablo Pastega said.
MPE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
