Vers un boom des liaisons entre les deux rives
It was expected and it was confirmed, this Thursday, in the metropolitan council, the delegate Keoliscurrent manager of Bordeaux transport network (TBM) has been renewed for the 2023-2030 period, with expanded missions on mobility. A choice that comes after two years of procedure. The budget for this delegation is 2.2 billion euros, “from which must be deducted the revenue, 830 million euros, which will be donated by the delegate to Bordeaux Métropole, i.e. 1.4 billion euros, specifies Béatrice de François, vice-president of the metropolis in charge of public transport. This budget is in line with the budget trajectory that we have defined. Understand: he’s not digging into debt.
The perimeter of the delegation is very wide and does not forget any mobility. Overview of the highlights of this new contract which will influence the daily movements of all the inhabitants of the metropolis. Connections between the two banks of the river should, for example, be facilitated.
New tram connections to desaturate the network
Two new extensions will be created: one, line F, will connect the right bank to the airport, via the station, so line C will turn into A at Porte de Bourgogne station, by a system of referral. Line E will leave from Floirac Dravemont to Blanquefort, using the same switching principle. The commissioning of these two lines is adapted for 2025. Patrick Bobet (LR), of the common metropolis group, welcomes “an intelligent game of switches which allows the return of the tram in the odor of sanctity in this house”.
If the metropolis does not want to launch major construction works for new lines, recalling a cost of “20 to 25 million euros per kilometer”, it wants to optimize the operation of the existing network. “Frequently goes to frequencies at 2’30, which will produce a significant improvement for 80,000 daily trips, or more than a quarter of daily tram users”, points out Béatrice de François. In 2027, it promises that 94% of the population will be served by the TBM network and that more than one in two users will have access to a frequency of less than 10 minutes. The opposition councilor of Renouveau Bordeaux (Renaissance) Stéphane Mari is afraid that the announcements are too good and wonders how sustainable the increase in frequency during peak hours will be.
Water shuttles and more bikes
New Batcub river shuttle connections will be offered upstream and downstream. Two new boats will be launched in 2024 and two others in 2025. New pontoons will also accompany this development. “I am particularly sensitive to the effort to improve the links between the two shores”, underlined the mayor of Bordeaux. Taking into account the rise in power of buses, trams and batcubs, there will be around 3,000 franchises per day, i.e. a 108% increase in connections by 2027.
The delegate has also undertaken to continue to strongly develop the practice of cycling in the “conurbation”. A fleet of 2,000 electric bicycles for long-term rental [1 an] , renewable for one year, will be offered and the stations, modernized from Vcub, will offer 50% electric bikes. On the perimeter of the intra-ring road, it is determined to install 50 additional stations. The mayor of Bordeaux took the opportunity to point out that the number of cyclists using the boulevards, a sector known to be dangerous and therefore shunned by bicycles, has increased by +75% in one year. “This means that many former motorists have taken up cycling, it is not a spontaneous generation of cyclists”, analyzes the elected official.
This delegation also signs the renewal of the bus, according to the majority. “Express buses and direct buses from periphery to periphery with radial organization and improved frequencies”, supports Clément Rossignol Puech, vice-president of the mobility and transport commission for the metropolis. The contract also provides for the use of alternative modes “such as the cable car when the time comes”, anticipates Béatrice de François. An innovation fund endowed with 10 million euros will make it possible to experiment with “user services” on the network. Opposition councilor Jacques Mangon (Common metropolis) is worried about the few ten-year projects in the northwestern quarter of the agglomeration, but President Alain Anziani has taken it up, insisting: “We don’t forget anyone. »