One thing that you’ll notice when you arrive in Bordeaux is the efficient use of the tramway which was installed in 2003. The use of its ground level power supply means that there is absence of over-head wires, which doesn’t obstruct the charm and view of the old city.

Tram D: Is the newest line and connects Carle Vernet et Mairie du Bouscat. Tram stops: Mairie du Bouscat, Calypso, Courbet, Barrière du Médoc, Croix-de-Seguey, Fondaudège Museum, Quinconces, Place de la Bourse, Porte de Bourgogne, Saint-Michel, Sainte-Croix, Tauzia, Gare Saint-Jean, Belcier, Carle Vernet.

Even if the tram is a clean and easy way to get around town, for new comers to the city it may or may not be obvious as to what to do.

Firstly, you’ll need to purchase a ticket to ride on the tram as there are inspectors that jump on and surprise the general public with a fine if a valid ticket is not produced.

Ticket kiosks can be found at all tram stops where you are able to buy an array of different types of tickets. The ticket machine is defaulted in French but there is a button to convert the language into English or Spanish. Once you have selected your language you can select your ticket by rotating the wheel in the center of the panel, click the center button to choose and then select the total number of tickets you wish to purchase.

To pay you will need to either pay by coins or credit card (notes are not accepted).

Ticket Types & Price: 

(After validation the ticket is good for 1 hour)

Type of ticket	Uses	Price
Tickarte 1 trip	For just 1 trip (Change as many times during 1 hour)	€1.60
Tickarte 5 trips	Occasional travel. No expiry date.	€6.50
Tickarte 10 trips	Occasional travel. No expiry date.	€12.00
Tickarte Relay Park*	Combine car – tram – bus (One day)	€4.50
Tickarte 1 day	Unlimited trips for a day	€4.30
Tickarte 7 days	Unlimited trips for a week	€12.00
City Pass	Unlimited transport access and provides access to museums, and other establishments (only available at the Tourist Offices)	€25.00 – 1 day €30.00  – 2 days €35.00 – 3 days
Evening Ticket (Pass Soirée)	Unlimited transport access from 7pm until 7am the next morning,	€2.00

* To be used in conjunction with the Park and Ride stations on the outskirts of the city.

* Prices may vary since this article was published. Check here from updated information.

Once you have boarded the tram there are two small yellow machines where you can validate your ticket.

Official TBC tram website: www.infotbc.com

The post Bordeaux Tramway appeared first on Bordeaux Expats.

• Seguinaud: Tram Stop “La Gardette-Bassens Carbon-Blanc” – Capacity: 243 places (Motorbike   36 places) – Location: Grand Came, Lormont.
• Les Lauriers: Tram Stop “Lauriers” – Capacity: 190 places (Motorbike 40 places) – Location: Avenue de la Résistance, Lormont.
• Buttinière: Tram Stop “La Buttinière” – Capacity 603 places (Motorbike 52 places) – Location: Avenue des Quatre Pavillons,  Lormont.
• Galin: Tram Stop “Galin” – Capacity 399 places (Motorbike 36 places) – Location: Avenue Thiers, Bordeaux Bastide.
• Stalingrad: Tram Stop “Stalingrad” – Capacity 250 places (Motorbike 20 places) – Location: Corner of Quai Deschamps and Rue Letellier, BordeauxBastide (near the Fire Station).
• Arlac: Tram Stop “Fontaine D’arlac” – Capacity 395 places (Motorbike 32 places) – Location: Avenue François Mitterrand, Merignac.
• Quatre Chemins: Tram Stop “Quatre Chemins” – Capacity 398 places (Motorbike 38 places) – Location: Avenue de la Marne, Merignac.

Tram Line B:

• Bougnard: Tram Stop “Bougnard” – Capacity 187 places (Motorbike   48 places) – Location: Avenue Bougnard, Pessac.
• Unitec: Tram Stop “Unitec” – Capacity 249 places (Motorbike  54 places) – Location: Avenue du DocteurAlbert Schweitzer, Pessac.
• Arts & Métiers: : Tram Stop “Arts & Métiers” – Capacity 594 places (Motorbike  50 places) – Location: Avenuedes Facultés, Pessac.
• Brandenburg: Tram Stop “Brandenburg” – Capacity 207 places (Motorbike  20 places) – Location: Rue Joseph Brunet,Bordeaux.

Tram Line C:

• Les Aubiers: Tram Stop “Les Aubiers” – Capacity 246 places (Motorbike 40 places ) – Location:  Avenue de Laroque, Bordeaux.
• Ravezies-Le Bouscat: Tram Stop “ Place Ravezies-Le Bouscat” – Capacity 369 places (Motorbike 26 places ) – Location:  Alléesde Boutaut, Bouscat
• Carle Vernet: Tram Stop “Carle Vernet” – Capacity 206 places (Motorbike 20 places ) – Location:  Rue Carle Vernet, Bordeaux.

• Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Sundays / Holidays: 5am ​​to 1am
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays: 5am to 2am

• Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Sundays / Holidays: 5am ​​to 12:30am
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays: 5am ​​to 1.30am

The post Bordeaux Tram – Park and Ride appeared first on Bordeaux Expats.

Essentially, this is why we’ve thrown a ginger bearded Australian in front of the camera to try to shed some light on that extremely user friend dial that needs to be turned to purchase a ticket.

Thanks to Derek Rose for the professional and fun video shoot.

The post Bordeaux By Tram appeared first on Bordeaux Expats.

The extension will create four to five new stations, and a Park and Ride with a capacity of 250 places.

Currently, the airport is only connected by shuttle and local buses. Alternatively, taxis and car parking can be considered to be a costly form of getting to the airport.

The tram line A will be extended by 4.7 km. This will run from ‘Les Quatre chemins’ directly to the airport.

The planned route will run along:  Avenue de la Somme, Avenue Matosinhos, Avenue Kennedy (crossing the ring road), then avenue René Cassin.

The launch of the works is scheduled for June 2019 and the delivery date is set for 2022.

The post BORDEAUX AIRPORT – TRAM CONNECTION CONFIRMED appeared first on Bordeaux Expats.

Some may recall that this debate has raged on for years, with a great recap being told in this article from Invisible Bordeaux. Only a few major French cities do not have a metro system, seeing the likes of Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille and even Rennes running tracks underground.

Bordeaux made the choice of implementing the tram, however in this article from the 20 mins,  Mickaël Beaubonne is convinced that the city will suffer in the long term without a metro system in place. The reasoning behind his argument is that the tram will eventually become over saturated. However, the implementation of a metro is not a replacement of our beloved tram but an addition to the current transport network offered by TBM

22%  LESS TRAVEL TIME
To support his argument, the teacher-researcher has based his arguments on two criteria: the reduction of travel time and the amount of passengers. According to his study, the construction of a metro would notably reduce travel time by 22% on average.

THE PROJECT ?
The study of the academic provides two lines. The M1, leaving from Talence by reactivating the station of the Médoquine, which is currently disused. There would be a common line until Bourranville, which would then switch to the belt line and head to Ravezies.  The line the would dive underground to reach the old station of Saint-Louis, pass through the train yards to reach the Gare Saint-Jean and then finish up at the Arena de Floirac.

The layout of M2 starts in Pessac center, then moves onto Mérignac, then the district of Bourranville. It would then plunge underground and take an east-west axis direction the right bank crossing rue de la République, Gambetta, Chapeau-Rouge, then under the Garonne direction Niel to stop at Galin.

These current plans for a Metro Bordeaux are reported to offer approx. 38 km of network, of which only 17km are  underground. The network would serve 34 stations and 8 different municipalities across the metropolis. An estimate of the cost has said to be in the order of around one billion euros for one line.

Other avenues are also being studied in the regards of solving the congestion problem that Bordeaux and the region is set to ever increasing face. Some other ideas include cable cars and even trolleybuses.

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