Toulouse: metro frequencies reduced during off-peak hours
Sunday, October 30, Tisséo has lowered the frequency of metro lines A and B for twenty to forty seconds. And the cable car stops at 10 p.m. now.
This is the main measure announced on October 13 as part of the sobriety plan: the frequencies of lines A and B of the Toulouse metro will be slightly lowered during off-peak hours. A measure that came into effect this Sunday, October 30.
Concretely, for line Athe frequency of passage of the trains decreases by about twenty seconds during off-peak hours of the week (from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to midnight or 3 a.m.) and by about forty seconds during off-peak hours on Saturdays morning (until noon) and Sunday morning (until 4 p.m.). For line B, the frequency is reduced by about twenty seconds at off-peak hours (between 9 p.m. and midnight or 3 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and all day on Sundays). As to cable car Téléo, it is interrupted every evening at 10 p.m. (instead of 12:30 a.m.).
Tisséo Voyageurs, which manages the network, is faced with the explosion of its electricity bill: from €6 million this year, it could climb to €30 million next year, according to estimates. A strong threat therefore weighs on the finances of the management and, more generally, on the financing of projects. With these measures concerning the metro and Téléo, Tisséo hopes to save €1 million over the year of implementation. We are still a long way off. And we will talk about this risk again.
The drop in frequencies has been criticized by opposition groups to the Metropolis, who see it as a reduction in service at a time when public transport must be given priority. “The difference will not even be seen,” said Jean-Michel Lattes, president of Tisséo Collectivités. During a meeting with the media on October 17, Jean-Luc Moudenc had defended “a common sense measure” which “will not disturb” Toulouse residents. “The real subject is the electricity bill,” he pleaded.