Synopsis
Born out of the Loire and the nearby Atlantic ocean, the Nantes Conurbation (555,000 inhabitants) covers 520 sq km, and has 150 km of rivers. Together with the Saint-Nazaire Conurbation and the Guerande Peninsula, the Urban Community of Nantes (UCN) operates as a metropolitan area and is home to 770,000 inhabitants. Over the last ten years, Nantes has registered the second highest growth rate in France, and has experienced a strong increase in the number of accommodations and inhabitants in the centre of the city. To face this population growth and the two million daily journeys, the UCN has implemented a proactive policy for transport, urban development and the environment. An initial transport plan developed in 1991 and a more recent one in 2000 prioritise public transport, cycling and walking and aim to control growth in private motorised traffic. This implies reducing the modal share of the car from 57% to 50% between 1997 and 2010. To this end, the urban transport plan includes 42 transport related actions. Citizens living in suburban areas are obliged to use their car for daily trips. To tackle this problem, UCN aims to offer new housing, activities, buildings and public spaces to increase density in the city centre.
The Nantes-St Nazaire line (63 km) is now served by several types of trains (regional and high-speed trains), offering various services (direct, main stations served, all 18 stations served, indirect). The distance is covered in between 36 and 59 minutes. Some 280,000 employees live along the line (incl. 200,000 in Nantes and 35,000 in St-Nazaire). The main stations are integrated with other modes of transport (e.g. park-and-rides, secured bicycle parking facilities, bus connections). Many of the transport actions are already in progress and the Nantes/St-Nazaire's integrated system of travel passes should also be included amongst the list of incentives to use public transport. The passes allow use of all the main public transport services in the Nantes urban area, and between Nantes and St-Nazaire. With MétrOcéane, it is possible to travel anywhere in the Loire estuary area (Nantes/St-Nazaire) by regional train (TER), tram (TAN), bus (TAN and STRAN), or coach (Réseau Atlantic) using a single pass.
There are three types of passes: daily, weekly or monthly. The daily pass is for use by the general population, but the other passes are for employees only, the overall objective being to reduce commuting by car. With a TAN travel pass valid on the UCN territory, it is also possible to travel on the regional train network (TER) to any of the eight national railway (SNCF) stations located within the Nantes urban area. In practise, the regional train network may be used as if it were part of the bus and tram system. These passes are available to all people. Several phone information services are also available (TAN, TER). The whole technical and fare system contributes to the economic development of the Pays de Loire Region.
Target groups: public transport users - all citizens
Fields: intermodality - public transport
This case study is one of 175 projects from the Smile Project Local Experiences Database listed on this website.
To find similar reports, click on a keyword below:
Car Use
: Citizens
: Local Government
: Mobility Management
: Planning issues
: Public Transport
: SMILE Project
: Sustainable Transport
: Urban Transport
Complete the Questionnaire to add your organisation to this website