BlaBlaCar

BlaBlaCar

Company type	Privately held company
Industry	transport
Founded	16 September 2006; 20 years ago (2006-09-16)
Founders	Frédéric Mazzella Francis Nappez Nicolas Brusson Nicolas Deroche
Headquarters	Paris , France
Area served	Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom
Services	Carpooling
Revenue	€250,000,000 (2023)
Owner	Comuto S.A.
Number of employees	600
Website	www.blablacar.co.uk, www.blablacar.in

BlaBlaCar is a French online marketplace for carpooling based in Paris. Its website and mobile apps connect drivers with passengers travelling between cities so they can share the cost of a journey. The company earns a commission of between 18% and 21% on bookings.

BlaBlaCar also operates BlaBlaCar Bus, an intercity bus service. As of 2024, the platform had about 26 million active users and operated across Europe and Latin America.

History

The idea for BlaBlaCar came in 2003 when founder Frédéric Mazzella could not find transport to visit his family for Christmas. He noticed that many cars on the road had empty seats and began working on a service to connect drivers and passengers. In 2006, he bought the website Covoiturage.fr, which had been created in 2004.

By 2008, Covoiturage.fr had become the largest carpooling website in France.

In 2011, BlaBlaCar launched in the United Kingdom.

In 2012, the company introduced online booking and expanded to Italy, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium.

In 2013, BlaBlaCar launched in Germany, and Covoiturage.fr was renamed BlaBlaCar.fr.

In 2014, the company expanded to Ukraine and Russia. Later that year, it reached 10 million users.

In 2015, BlaBlaCar entered India and acquired several competitors, including Carpooling in Germany, Autohop in Central Europe, and Rides in Mexico.

In 2017, the company launched BlaBlaLines, a service for daily commuting in France. During the same year, it closed its offices in India, Turkey and Mexico, saying it had expanded too quickly in those markets.

In 2018, BlaBlaCar acquired the French startup Less. Later that year, it acquired the long-distance coach operator Ouibus from SNCF. Ouibus was renamed BlaBlaBus.

In 2019, BlaBlaCar acquired the Russian bus booking platform Busfor.

In 2021, the company acquired Octobus, a Ukrainian software company that develops ticketing and management software for bus operators.

In 2023, BlaBlaCar acquired Klaxit, a French company that provides carpooling services for commuters.

Criticism

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, BlaBlaCar suspended investment in its Russian subsidiary and stopped financial transfers from its headquarters. The Russian business continued operating under local management.

References