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.

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-...

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

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

Not at all.

> The startup's economic model is designed for long distances and geared toward motorists looking to fill empty seats during journeys they would have been making anyway.

So, not like Uber at all and not something that takes on the heavily regulated taxi industry.