[boreas]

BlaBlaCar is actually owned by SNCF, the French state-owned railway company. So Blablacar is actually part of the government monopoly on all long-distance travel (even highways cost money to use). I don't think it's the best standard-bearer for the European startup scene.

[SilasX]

Wait, what? The Wikipedia page says it's private. Even the French version makes no reference to SNCF. The closest I could find was SNCF being one of many investor-owners. [1]

Even if it were so owned, its entire history looks like a startup (lots of financing rounds, building out the product, about having to raise capital), so even if there was a buyout, it overcame whatever regulatory hurdles should have prevented this kind of thing in France.

Where are you getting this information?

[1] http://bfmbusiness.bfmtv.com/entreprise/la-sncf-investit-28-...

[tim333]

Turns out SNCF set up a Bla Bla competitor / rip off which it owns - idvroom.

[ThomPete]

But the way BlaBlaCar work is as far as I understand very different from the Uber model no?

[pyb]

Not at all.