The tile. 20 minutes received confirmation this Thursday that the first express bus line in Bordeaux Métropole, between Bordeaux and Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, will open in spring 2024… without the latest generation electric buses supposed to equip it. The manufacturer, the Dutch VDL Bus & Coach, to whom an order for 36 buses was placed, announced to metropolitan elected officials in October that it was more than a year late in delivering the equipment.
“Alain Anziani, president of Bordeaux Métropole, demanded to meet the management of the manufacturer VDL bus & coach following the announcement of a new delay in the delivery of its electric buses of more than a year from now on,” announces Bordeaux Métropole this Thursday. A meeting took place on November 30, during which the metropolis demanded to be able to benefit from “prototypes allowing the necessary tests to be carried out for the qualification of the equipment and the line. »
The delivery delay is therefore much more significant than what the manufacturer had initially announced. For the record, the first elements were initially to be delivered in October 2023. Then the manufacturer announced a first delay, due to technical hazards. Clément Rossignol-Puech, vice-president of Bordeaux Métropole in charge of mobility strategies, explained this last October 14 to 20 minutes that “a few electric buses would be delivered for the opening of the line (…) and the entire electric fleet, by November 2024, in several phases. » Delivery will therefore only finally take place from spring 2025. At best.
Bordeaux Métropole wants VDL to “resolve its production problems as quickly as possible”
The opening of the line in spring 2024 will therefore only be with classic buses. “Bordeaux Métropole has decided to operate the line without delay and from the end of the work in spring 2024 with existing buses, and frequencies optimized with regard to the rolling stock used. » Travelers will have to wait to take advantage of these ultra-modern buses, equipped with wifi, and capable of covering the 21 km of the route, without having to recharge along the way, thanks to a system of extra-flat large capacity batteries, in part installed in the floor, and a rapid charging system at each end of the line.
“Bordeaux Métropole takes note of this delay and hopes that VDL will resolve its production problems as quickly as possible in order to honor this order of 38.4 million euros. The launch of the first express bus line is crucial, this new mode of transport combining speed, frequency and comfort is an essential link in the mobility plan voted in September 2021.
A 50% dedicated bus line
This express bus line, which will run 50% on its own site between Saint-Jean station and Saint-Aubin, will serve the municipalities of Bordeaux, Mérignac, Eysines, Le Haillan, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Le Taillan-Médoc and Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc. It targets an attendance of 50,000 travelers per day.
This setback constitutes another hiccup for this 154.6 million euro project (with infrastructure), which had already had to endure the appeal of a Bordeaux association, Bordeaux à coeur. “In order to raise user awareness and test the vehicle on the line, Bordeaux Métropole asked the Dutch manufacturer to deliver a demonstration vehicle as quickly as possible. This should be possible at the end of the first half of 2024,” the community further announces.
Bordeaux Métropole has voted to create a total of seven express bus lines for the coming years.