February the 22nd, 2025 – FlixBus is set to bring a much needed proverbial lick of paint to the neglected Zagreb bus station in the form of a unique lounge.
let’s face it, Zagreb Bus Station has long been an incredibly unattractive looking building. It’s an eyesore, and it’s even less comfortable to hang around waiting in. Bus stations around the world have generally acquired reputations for being unpleasant and for attracting some, shall we say, unusual folk. Passengers usually don’t bother to stay longer than they absolutely need to, and the same is true for Zagreb Bus Station.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sinisa Malus writes, this past week, the truly dilapidated Zagreb Bus Station building recently received a completely different space that even buildings in the best transport hubs would brag about. FlixBus, in partnership with Croatia Bus, has opened the new FlixBus Lounge, which brings a new level of comfort and flexibility to Zagreb Bus Station. It will allow passengers to start their journey in a pleasant, functional and modern environment.
From the perspective of bus transport, this is a unique concept, at least according to Ante Grbeša, Director of the FlixBus CEE South region.
“Our strategy and desire is for our users to have a top-notch experience. Our long-time partner Croatia Bus has helped us a lot, and I’d like to thank Rajko Zelenika for recognising these synergistic effects six years ago. This has helped us to make FlixBus in Croatia as high-quality as possible. That’s why we have a strong European network and that’s why we’re opening the FlixBus Lounge,” revealed Grbeša.
This, Grbeša emphasised, doesn’t actually exist anywhere in Europe. The idea is for this new FlixBus space in Zagreb Bus Station to follow in the footsteps of airline lounges. The aim is provide passengers with a great experience, and it will be available to all FlixBus users regardless of whether they’re travelling on domestic or international routes.
The basic idea is that passengers can rest, take a break, and charge their mobile phones and laptops within the FlixBus lounge at Zagreb Bus Station before they set off on their journey. This will also improve the level of information people can access, because there will be monitors on which people can check all relevant information about their timetable.
It was added that there are various ideas and plans for similar ventures in other Croatian transport stations, but that this will take time. That’s both due to stringent regulations and the need for adaptation to each individual location. However, it has been cautiously announced that the FlixBus lounge at Zagreb Bus Station will certainly not remain the only one. It’s well known, however, that for the realisation of any business idea in the transport business in Croatia, it’s best to arm yourself with patience. He believes that the government has taken the right stance in developing the transport strategy with the decision to liberalise Croatian public bus passenger transport
The owner and director of Croatia Bus, Rajko Zelenika, said that he didn’t hesitate for a second about giving up some space for this new lounge.
“It’s important that this FlixBus lounge space is located within Zagreb Bus Station and we believe that we’ll encourage others to improve their services and offer their passengers something more. This facility represents a unique segment in our portfolio. There are very many European destinations, and yet this type of thing is usually not available to passengers. That makes us especially proud,” said Zelenika.
In addition to Croatia Bus, the partners in the project are Jamnica, Polleo Sport and Violeta, who readily accepted the initiative, taking into account the fact that passengers must have refreshments available.
FlixBus is otherwise the fastest growing transport company in all of Croatia. Although the market leader is Zagreb-based ZET, the biggest growth is Flixbus CEE South, whose revenues in 2023 increased by 49%. For the second year in a row now, it won second place on the list of leading companies. The company’s very rapid growth is also shown by the fact that in 2021, it came fifth place with 18.7 million euros, and in the meantime its revenues have reached almost 70 million euros.
