Fuel prices: 20% more seats offered since the start of the war in the Middle East, according to BlaBlaCar.

In the context of rising fuel prices linked to the war in the Middle East, the BlaBlaCar platform has seen “a 20% increase in the number of seats offered” compared to the same period last year, said its CEO, Nicolas Brusson, on France Inter on Monday. Prices, however, “have not increased,” he assures. “It really started a month ago, with the April holidays,” explains the CEO. “Typically, if we take the May 1st weekend, we have over 300,000 seats offered, which is almost 20% above the same weekend last year.”

BlaBlaCar also observes a 40% increase in the number of new drivers, those “who share a journey for the first time.” “In the past, we have seen that when the price of petrol rises and it is talked about a lot in the media, it allows some people to take the plunge,” and “then what we observe is that people who discover it tend to continue,” explains the platform’s CEO.

“We do not see an explosion” in demand

Passenger demand, on the other hand, is “a little more stable, we do not see an explosion today,” says Nicolas Brusson. The occupancy rate is therefore “slightly decreasing” at the moment. This partly explains why “prices have not increased” over the period. But it is also a matter of tradition at BlaBlaCar, according to its CEO.

In 2025, BlaBlaCar recorded 150 million reservations, therefore 150 million passengers worldwide, with almost 20 million in France.