0,99 euros extra: Flixbus collects a service fee

A few days ago, the train and long-distance bus operator Flix started charging booking fees in certain markets, including Austria, Germany and Switzerland. You now collect an extra 0,99 euros per order.

According to the company's own information, this Körberl money, which is charged per booking process and not per direction, is intended to finance the development of digital services. However, it could be that this fee could be legally questionable, at least in Austria, because it is obviously a so-called “service fee” for which there is no significant consideration. The Supreme Court had declared this to be illegal for fitness studios and now mobile operators who invented this “basket money” are also giving in.

Flixbus had fought in court to ensure that despite the ban on payment fees for using Paypal and Sofortüberweisung, you could still charge extra. They lost in court and have now stopped charging expenses. In some circumstances, the new service fee, which is only charged in certain markets such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland, could be interpreted as a payment fee under another name. However, this would be inadmissible under the Austrian Payment Services Act.

Passengers who want to purchase tickets for Flixbus and Flixtrain can easily avoid the service fee. You simply book via a country website (or language setting) of a market where Flix does not collect these expenses.