Le Figaro Nantes
A new battle of arms took place on social networks in the last 24 hours between the elected representatives of the opposition and those of the municipal majority. "In Nantes, the 6th largest city in France, school holidays begin on May 15. Yes, yes. At least for transport. Since this morning, buses, busways, trams run on green day. Back to normal on August 28!" protested Julien Bainvel, city councillor of the group Mieux Vivre in Nantes, bringing together elected officials from the right and the center.
Indeed, according to the calendar of the public transport network of the Nantes agglomeration, since May 15, the level of service has changed to "green day", which corresponds more or less to the schedules usually offered during the school holidays of All Saints, winter, February and Easter.
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People who subscribe to them continue to pay, and the result is that we have fewer buses and less transport every day. Transport is busier and with a longer waiting time. This is not how we will make people love transport, "said the elected to Figaro a few hours before publishing his message.
This attack did not fail to provoke a reaction from his political opponents. "How can one be so dishonest! The commercial calendar of the Tan network has been adapted for several years to the reality of attendance. This makes it possible to make the best use of resources, in particular to improve the service at the beginning of summer... What else?", replied on the same channel Pascal Bolo, the deputy mayor and president of Semitan (mixed union of transport Nantes and metropolitan), visibly stung to the quick.
Beyond questions of posture, what is it really?
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This organization of the offer has been in place since 2016, "says the Figaro the management of Semitan. Seven years ago, schedules were adapted to the network's real-time traffic. Concretely, according to the 2022/2023 calendar, six colors correspond globally to specific periods, from the most to the least frequented: blue (Monday to Friday during school period), green (short school holidays, last fortnight of May, June, one week at the beginning of July and one at the end of August), orange (Saturday during school period), yellow (summer holidays), purple (Saturday during school holidays), and white (Sundays and public holidays).
The 2022/2023 calendar of the Tan. Semitan
In 2023, the switch to green day schedules has been brought forward by one week compared to the previous year: "it is the week of the Ascension weekend and we see a lower attendance since Monday. This novelty was voted in the Metropolitan Council by the elected officials, "continues the mixed union.
In general, "for the past two years, we have seen a decline in ridership of the public transport network in the spring due to the strong development of soft mode travel, especially cycling". An argument also taken up on the blue bird network by Pierre-Emmanuel Marais, deputy to the city of Nantes and delegate for transport and travel: "The Tan adapts to the frequentation of the lines, the departures in internship of students and then, in the 1st city of Brittany, more walking and cycling especially with the sunny days.
»Mahaut Bertu, deputy for Equality, the non-sexist city, the fight against discrimination and the Associative Life, also got involved: "Hello Julien, beyond the color (a preference for blue rather than green perhaps?), I propose that we seriously look at the schedule changes we talk about when we go from blue day to green day ..", with a photo mentioning a waiting time varying from 30 seconds. "The green level corresponds to 90% of the winter offer, which is perfectly consistent with the attendance of the network that we observe each year from the beginning of May," says the TAN.
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Transport, a divisive theme
This is not the first time that the issue of public transport has been divisive within the majority. In April, at the time of a deliberation on the increase in bus and tram ticket fares, the group Mieux Vivre in Nantes had voted against, "not on principle but because we have a conviction: it is that for our citizens to use public transport more, the offer must increase," claimed Julien Bainvel, who closely follows transportation topics. "However, the metropolis is making the opposite choice. It chooses not to touch the offer while increasing rates. What for? Simply because it has set up free transport on weekends and that it comes to sink the accounts of the TAN. The municipality welcomes this free service set up in 2021. "I claim this measure, a flagship measure of the municipal campaign," said Johanna Rolland Thursday, May 11, during a mid-term review, about this concept put in place in particular to reduce the place of polluting transport.
