Arthur Bertrand, a RSB Alumnus, is launching PACO, a new alternative for travelling by bus

Arthur Bertrand (P29), an Alumnus of Rennes School of Business, is embarking on a new entrepreneurial venture with PACO, a French mobility start-up. Co-founded with Olivio Bugosen and Louis Carron-Cabaret, the company officially began selling tickets on 3 November 2026. Its ambition is to develop a national network of long-distance coaches, with the first services scheduled to run from 15 January 2027.

10 November 2026

Partager
Alumni

PACO: a new long-distance coach network in France

Following the announcement of BlaBlaCar Bus’s closure in April 2026, Arthur Bertrand and Olivio Bugosen, two former employees of the company, decided to launch their own venture. Together with Louis Carron-Cabaret, former Chief Product and Technology Officer at Japhy, they founded PACO, a new French long-distance coach network.

With its slogan “The bus, but better.”, PACO aims to offer a more affordable and comfortable coach travel experience, working with independent coach operators and an online booking platform.

From 15 January 2027, PACO plans to serve several major French cities, including Rennes, Lyon, Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille and Nice. Among its announced routes, the company highlights a Rennes–Marseille journey for less than €30.

How does PACO work?

PACO operates without owning its own fleet of coaches. Journeys are operated by independent coach companies, while the start-up manages ticket sales, pricing, technology and customer service.

As co-founder in charge of operations, Arthur Bertrand places particular importance on the passenger experience:

“On the road, quality is all about the details: punctuality, cleanliness and a warm welcome.”

To ensure consistent comfort standards, partner coaches will offer power sockets at every seat, toilets and cleaning after each journey.

What are PACO’s ambitions?

With this launch, the three co-founders aim to contribute to the modernisation of the coach transport sector.

PACO plans to gradually expand its network throughout 2027, introducing new routes and working with additional transport partners.

In the longer term, the start-up aims to connect the 50 largest cities in Western Europe, while developing technological solutions to support the digital transformation of independent coach operators.

A new entrepreneurial venture led in part by Arthur Bertrand, an alumnus of Rennes School of Business, worth keeping an eye on in the coming months!

Discover PACO and its first routes