BlaBlaCars

[nalod]

I have used the search function on the forum to see if this topic was covered before. It seem to have been included in other topic but not as a Topic on it's own. Forgive me if I am repeating something that has been covered.

I will be arriving In Santander on a Sunday in a few weeks (going to Oviedo) and the next ALSA bus is a "Premium" bus which costs 29 euro compared to the normal fare of around 12 euro. In one of the search I done for transport https://www.blablacar.com/ appeared. I had never ever heard of them. Forum people what is your experience of them and how good are they, also my problem is my lack of any real Spanish except the really basic.

 

[Tincatinker]

Never heard of them. A variant on Uber presumably. A Google search produces the usual set of rave reviews from all the friends of the drivers.

There are plenty of ALSA buses at the €12 /13 price - you might find it easier to grab a coffee and wait.

 

[SYates]

BlaBlaCars is a car/drive sharing site. Somebody plans to go from A to B and has free space, so s/he posts this on the site. Or somebody wants to go from A to B, but doesn't have a car - s/he posts this on the site. If the two 'meet' somebody has company/lower fuel costs and somebody has a low cost ride. Buen Camino, SY

 

[domigee]

I took one of those Premium Alsa buses a few days ago from La Coruña to Oviedo - there were no other that fitted in my timetable : they are fab! Lots of latest films to choose from etc. Mind you they're all in Spanish so a bit of a waste if you are not a Spanish speaker
After that, the ordinary Alsa bus from Oviedo to Santander was a bit of a let down
I also looked at the blablacars but chickened out
Alsa have an App you can download. I hope you find one that suits.
Buen camino.

 

[nalod]

Looks like ALSA. Ihave hiked 11,000 kms in the last five years that is adventure enough, when in doubt take the bus. Cheers for the replies.

 

[Pruden]

BlaBlaCars is very popular in Spain , but mainly for young people , they work very well and cheap ,( for instance from Madrid to Barcelona 620 kilometer the cost could be 30 euros less or more , it depend of the car), this drivers and their cars are evaluated by the passenger ,so you can see by other members or car user , how good and responsible this driver is.
My daughter is 0 her twenties and she went to Barcelona from Madrid on Monday and this evening she is coming back.
So far I know I recommend it for sure , I have friends and their sons and daughter use this BlaBlaCar to go every where .
In October I'll use it to go to Logroño for my Camino.
I recommend it to anyone!

Buen Camino

 

[ortemio]

I have used it from Aix in France to Bayonne ( 35euro) great trip, then Bayonne to Pamplona ( 9 euro), later did Aix to Barcelona and then to Madrid, every trip was great and cheap. You get to meet new people, lots of them have done the camino in stages and have lots to say... I like the service.

 

[Castilian]

In addition to all the info provided by previous users, I'd like to say that there's a lawsuit against Blablacar because (some) bus companies consider they make unfair competition. The judge could close Blablacar service, close it temporarily (till the judge takes a final decission) or let them to continue operations. If one of the sides disagree with the judge final decission, the case could be reviewed by another tribunal...

 

[nalod]

BlaBlaCars is very popular in Spain , but mainly for young people , they work very well and cheap ,( for instance from Madrid to Barcelona 620 kilometer the cost could be 30 euros less or more , it depend of the car), this drivers and their cars are evaluated by the passenger ,so you can see by other members or car user , how good and responsible this driver is.
My daughter is 0 her twenties and she went to Barcelona from Madrid on Monday and this evening she is coming back.
So far I know I recommend it for sure , I have friends and their sons and daughter use this BlaBlaCar to go every where .
In October I'll use it to go to Logroño for my Camino.
I recommend it to anyone!

Buen Camino

Thank you Pruden.

 

[SYates]

In addition to all the info provided by previous users, I'd like to say that there's a lawsuit against Blablacar because (some) bus companies consider they make unfair competition. The judge could close Blablacar service, close it temporarily (till the judge takes a final decission) or let them to continue operations. If one of the sides disagree with the judge final decission, the case could be reviewed by another tribunal...

That really is sad! SY

 

[KinkyOne]

This year I thought a lot about taking BlaBlaCar offers between my multiple Caminos (Bayona, Salvador, Ingles) but I stick to public transport. I even registered to the site and got my account but most (that is 80%) of the offers by the time I've needed them demanded credit card payment up-front. As non-Spanish and very carefull about my budget I didn't take that chance. Also the cost for a train was let's say 10€ and BlaBlaCar 8€. Car ride was a lot faster though.

EDIT: I don't want to put away any potential user of BBC, it was just unusual to me to pay up-front. Similar site is running in my country with great success and everything is done with cash. OK, I can understand sometimes a "costumer" change his/her mind and leave the provider wothout notice, but they have other security measures in case of repeated hoaxes by certain member(s).

 

[BShea]

Last April, I arranged a BlaBlaCar ride in France which I pre-paid through PayPal. Unfortunately, my driver cancelled at the last minute (while I was in flight). By the time I was able to get an internet connection to check for another ride, all the other rides were full so I ended up having to take the train. PayPal automatically credited my account which is where my money still sits since I rarely use PayPal.

 

[JeepsNRoses]

Last April, I arranged a BlaBlaCar ride in France which I pre-paid through PayPal. Unfortunately, my driver cancelled at the last minute (while I was in flight). By the time I was able to get an internet connection to check for another ride, all the other rides were full so I ended up having to take the train. PayPal automatically credited my account which is where my money still sits since I rarely use PayPal.

Why don't you xfer the money from PayPal to your bank account? It usually only takes 2 days and there is no fee. Sorry to hear about your BBCars experience. I was considering using them at the end of my Camino, but now will probably play it safe & take the train from Burgos back to France.

 

[Kanga]

It sounds a bit like organised hitch-hiking, but I suppose the safety aspect is partially addressed by the reviews. I'd still be hesitant.

 

[nalod]

It sounds a bit like organised hitch-hiking, but I suppose the safety aspect is partially addressed by the reviews. I'd still be hesitant.

Perfect description, it is organised hitch hiking with a "tip".

 

[Castilian]

The judge could close Blablacar service, close it temporarily (till the judge takes a final decission) or let them to continue operations.

I wasn't too accurate with that statement so I'll try to improve it. I'm not an expert in law and I don't know what's the current situation of the lawsuit so I don't know if the option of closing it temporarily could still be available at the moment or if the time for it is already gone. I don't know either if that option might be again available if another tribunal had to review the case. In other words, closing Blablacar service temporarily (till the judge takes a final decission) could have been an option (at the start of the lawsuit) if it had been requested and the judge had accepted it but I don't know if it's still an option.

I would like to say too that the judge could take other decissions different from the ones I quoted (i.e.: that the list I provided above isn't -necessarily- exhaustive).

 

[Lucio Cassia]

In my experience BlaBlaCar is a wonderful low-cost service. Last May I used BlaBlaCar to transfer from Lourdes to SJPdP at a merely cost of 12€. I was very lucky because my flight landed at Lourdes on Friday afternoon at 17H10 coming from Milan-Orio al Serio. And every Friday at 17H30 a nice young woman working in Lourdes but living in SJPdP goes back home by car (then she comes back to Lourdes on every Monday morning). She is a very kind BlaBlaCar driver so I contacted her 2 days before trough the BlaBlaCar website. It was a very nice travel talking with her and other two pilgrims.

 

[KathrynW]

I have used the search function on the forum to see if this topic was covered before. It seem to have been included in other topic but not as a Topic on it's own. Forgive me if I am repeating something that has been covered.

I will be arriving In Santander on a Sunday in a few weeks (going to Oviedo) and the next ALSA bus is a "Premium" bus which costs 29 euro compared to the normal fare of around 12 euro. In one of the search I done for transport https://www.blablacar.com/ appeared. I had never ever heard of them. Forum people what is your experience of them and how good are they, also my problem is my lack of any real Spanish except the really basic.

We used bla la from Lyon to Le Puy en Velay. A journey that would have cost over £100 by public transport for us,cost €8 each. Register on the website, state where you want to go and wait for a response. Our driver was a student in Lyon who regularly drove back home to Le Puy. It saved us time and money before starting our Camino.

 

[angelafinnigan]

I have used the search function on the forum to see if this topic was covered before. It seem to have been included in other topic but not as a Topic on it's own. Forgive me if I am repeating something that has been covered.

I will be arriving In Santander on a Sunday in a few weeks (going to Oviedo) and the next ALSA bus is a "Premium" bus which costs 29 euro compared to the normal fare of around 12 euro. In one of the search I done for transport https://www.blablacar.com/ appeared. I had never ever heard of them. Forum people what is your experience of them and how good are they, also my problem is my lack of any real Spanish except the really basic.

I've used Blablacar in France Spain and UK. It's a great system, like air BnB except for travel. Every experience has been great for me. Definitely recommend using blabla.

 

[backpack45]

I have used the search function on the forum to see if this topic was covered before. It seem to have been included in other topic but not as a Topic on it's own. Forgive me if I am repeating something that has been covered.

I will be arriving In Santander on a Sunday in a few weeks (going to Oviedo) and the next ALSA bus is a "Premium" bus which costs 29 euro compared to the normal fare of around 12 euro. In one of the search I done for transport https://www.blablacar.com/ appeared. I had never ever heard of them. Forum people what is your experience of them and how good are they, also my problem is my lack of any real Spanish except the really basic.

We used Blablacar.com last year when we wanted to go from Oviedo to Madrid (5 hours) and it was perfect. We had been told about it from another pilgrim who had used it. More expensive than a bus, but faster. A couple drove--he spoke only Spanish, she spoke both Spanish and some English. I would do it again, but obviously can't guarantee it would work for anyone else. It is basically paying the gas and other car expenses of someone who is already going where you want to go. The drivers (and passengers I think), get ratings that you can check online..