In addition to measures aimed at connecting its transport network and promoting intermodal information, Bordeaux has also chosen to enhance and diversify its mobility portfolio in order to provide a real alternative to the car. We examine a few of the most significant examples.
Passenger information and intermodal ticketing are clearly key elements in terms of promoting the modal shift, but they are not the only ones. Initiatives designed to render public transit more attractive can also play a role. This, for example, was prominent in the thinking of the Departmental Council of the Gironde when it decided to modernise TransGironde, its departmental transport service, in 2013. The overhaul led to the introduction of the first ec@r high-quality-service coaches in France on several lines of its local network. Equipped with wifi, electrical outlets and so on, these vehicles aim to make travel more comfortable for passengers. Combined with a new range of tariffs, the strategy paid off, with the number of passengers rising from 880,000 per year before 2013 to 1.7 m.
Pedestrians and bicycles have not been neglected, with several initiatives implemented to boost their development. For example, a number of secure cycle parks have been created, notably near the main railway station, and are available to Modalis or TBC card users with a VCub subscription. As for pedestrians, an initiative known as ‘La marche à suivre’ was launched for the duration of a month in September 2014. This encouraged residents of Bordeaux to cover short distances on foot in order to demonstrate that certain journeys do not require the use of public transport or cars.
The development of sustainable mobility has not been restricted to public transport on land. In the spring of 2013, two river shuttles, known as BatCubs, were added to the CUB’s intermodal portfolio on an experimental basis. Linking Stalingrad and Lormont Bas to the city centre, they are each able to transport 45 passengers and 6 bicycles. “Our goal is to attract 200,000 travellers per year,” says the CUB. “We may achieve this target next year.”
To avoid solo-driving, ideas for new ways of travelling by car have been promoted in Bordeaux and its surrounding region. In addition to a regional car-pooling website called moijecovoiture.com, which helps people from the Aquitaine region find car-poolers more easily, an electric self-service car-sharing system, called BlueCub, has been operational since January. Around a hundred vehicles are currently available across 40 stations, and these figures are expected to double in 2015.