à Bordeaux les voyageurs de Noël se rabattent sur la route
In front of the buses parading at the Belcier bus station, this Friday, December 23, many travelers are train orphans. Most do against bad luck with a good heart. Mathilde, 20, passing through Bordeaux for five days, on the return to Paris, keeps smiling despite a journey time that will stretch slightly and the “125 euros” she had to pay. Grégoire, 25, offers to taste his rump steak and fries before heading to Brive where he is to join his family. For him, it will only be “an hour” more travel time. Sylvie, 54, leaving for the Paris region, does not even complain about the SNCF strikers. “If I hadn’t been able to join my children, I don’t know… But they have to fight for the improvement of their working conditions. And I will know how to take care of myself! “, she says, showing a thick book.
In Belcier, during the lunch break, the Flixbuses come and go. Spokesperson for the company, Charles Billard points to “a higher number of buses and increased frequencies” during this holiday season and in the context of a strike. “We have added a third more frequencies from or to Bordeaux compared to a period of classic activity on certain large destinations such as Paris or Nantes”, he explains.
“Our prices increase mechanically due to the large number of reservations and the close reservation dates”
According to the company, around 5,500 Flixbus passengers will pass through Bordeaux this Christmas weekend, on the route north (Paris or Nantes) or south (Barcelona, Bayonne or Toulouse). “At the national level, we are on an increase of around 20-25% in reservations linked to the strike, a figure identical to each movement”, continues Charles Billard. Is his company taking the opportunity to increase the price of his journeys as some travelers suspect? “Our prices increase mechanically due to the large number of reservations and the close reservation dates,” explains the spokesperson. This Friday, only four buses out of the 24 chartered by Flixbus in Bordeaux, offered a few seats. All the others were full.
Faced with the elimination of many trains, the bus is therefore in vogue. Carpooling too. Blablacar said it recorded a 20% increase in additional journeys and a reservation rate of 70% on the routes impacted by the social movement. The world leader with 100 million users has even launched the “Santa Claus is a car” operation to encourage motorists to take passengers with them.
Trains to Paris canceled
Behind the Saint-Jean station where he should normally have taken his TGV at the end of the afternoon, Aurélien is waiting for his “driver” heading for Tours. Nearly four hours of travel, “but at least I will be able to see my parents”, delivers the computer scientist in his thirties, living in Villenave-d’Ornon: “I had not done a carpool since more than five years, it reminds me of my youth. “At the Aurélien stage, other orphans of the rails were undoubtedly to find the joys of the road this weekend while this Saturday, around fifteen trains for Paris were announced canceled by the SNCF.