The energy bill promises to be high for the transport network of the Bordeaux TBM metropolis. During the back-to-school press conference on Tuesday, the director of Keolis Bordeaux, Pierrick Poirier, announced “an additional cost of around 20 to 25 million euros” for the year 2023, due to the increase the price of electricity “which has been multiplied by five or six” and that of gas “multiplied by three”. On the network “traction energy represents 90% of energy needs” he specifies.
Will this be reflected in the prices? Nothing is decided for the moment. But the vice-president of the metropolis in charge of public transport, Béatrice de François, does not hide that this option is on the table, “after three years without a rise”, she specifies. “However, I am certain that the president of the metropolis will ask that this remain more than reasonable, no more than 2%, if there is an increase. Verdict next March.
Tram A will go to the airport in spring 2023
The year 2023 will be marked by another event, this one more positive, since the elected official announced that the inauguration of the extension of tram A to the airport will take place next spring. “From January there will be a trial month, then two months of dry run, before the line opens to the public. The launch of the express bus line between Saint-Jean station and Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc via Saint-Médard-en-Jalles will wait until spring 2024. 100% electric buses will equip this new line.
On network traffic, traffic “is returning to normal” after the health crisis which had seen a sharp drop in the number of travelers. “At the end of August, we returned to the traffic level of 2019 with 108.5 million trips (+ 0.21%)” indicates Pierrick Poirier. Note, however, changes in behavior since, among subscribers, “we note that the young population remains stable compared to 2019, on the other hand we observe a drop in adults (- 11.8%), which corresponds to the evolution of telework. »
What future for the V3 self-service bicycle service?
The metropolis and Keolis are also asking themselves the question of the future of the self-service bicycle service V3. “We went from 1.3 million loans in 2019 to 900,000 at the end of August, a drop of 30%”, notes Pierrick Poirier. This is due, according to the director of Keolis, to “the use of bicycles which is becoming more democratic, with in particular the development of free-floating”.
Free-floating is also scooter and scooter. New uses that sometimes come into conflict with the tram network. “We are seeing more collisions with pedestrians, two-wheelers and scooters,” Pierrick Poirier points out. From January to August, there were 27 accidents with pedestrians, compared to 38 for the whole of 2019, 19 accidents with bicycles compared to 30 in 2019, and 5 with scooters, i.e. as many as in 2019.
New security experimentation
“Our new challenge is to make these new users aware of our network, which is why we are continuing to experiment with security. After the famous flash trains that send light signals, and which now equip all our trains, we are testing new pedestrian crossing systems, four of which are deployed on the platforms, to alert people crossing the tram tracks. If it proves conclusive, this test could be generalized to other cities.
On the question of the lack of personnel, which had forced the TBM network to lower its transport offer for a week at the very beginning of September, Keolis ensures that “everything is back to normal” even if there are still 35 drivers to be recruited by the end of the year.