Helmets, suits, goggles and snowboards… in full ski gear – despite the heat – and in song, groups of Toulouse residents came to celebrate the arrival of the Toulouse cable car on Sunday, during the open house weekend which contains more than 50,000 people. This baptism in humor and especially this record crowd demonstrates the enormous attraction of what is today the third urban cable car in France and the longest, over 3 km, between Paul-Sabatier University, Rangueil Hospital and the Oncopole.

An attraction that everyone feels will go beyond the stage of simply using public transport for which Téléo was first designed. During the inauguration on Friday, Jean-Michel Lattes, president of Tisséo Collectivités, spoke of the part of the dream that Téléo communicates to its users. The suspended journey offers a unique experience. From the comfort of large stable cabins, a whole panorama of Toulouse, the plain of the Garonne and the Pyrenees is revealed on a clear day. The passage over the river, in a classified natural area which is home to many birds, 70 meters high, is the highlight of this spectacle. During the open house, some went back and forth several times.

Postcard

The cable car, a new tourist attraction in Toulouse? This is what already seems to be taking shape. This is the case elsewhere in the world for some of the many integrated cable cars, such as Téléo, by the French Poma. In its traffic consumers, Tisséo has not included this part of the customer base which is difficult to quantify. For its part, the town hall is anticipating and wants to redevelop Pech-David, where an ephemeral restaurant will open this summer, and where a pedestrian link has already been created from the Rangueil station. For its part, the Metropolis Attractiveness Agency, which oversees the tourist office, plans to bring future investors, project leaders or delegates to the cable car as part of its visits to Toulouse.

Téléo, beautiful business card for Toulouse. And perhaps also a future postcard from the Pink City. This is what predicted during the inauguration, the president of the Tisséo Voyageurs transport authority, Nicolas Misiak. The traditional view of the dome of the Grave from the right bank of the Garonne will be challenged by the many shots taken from the cabins. And how many Toulouse residents are already authorized to take their future visitors there? “It’s a bit like a merry-go-round”, testified a user on Saturday.
Monday, Téléo lives at the rhythm of its normal operation, It is accessible for the price of a ticket from the Tisséo network. And already, the attendance target has practically been reached: 7,347 people on Monday, then 7,553 on Tuesday made the trip in the air.