The Nantes Busway is a bus rapid transit line operating in the city ofNantes, France. The service was inaugurated on November 6, 2006 and is operated bySemitan. The line runs from Place Foch to Porte de Vertou on a dedicated right-of-way, and interconnects with line 1 of the Nantes Tramway at Duchesse Anne Château station. Four park & ride facilities have been built along the construction of the line to encourage passengers to use public transport. Nantes Busway line 4 is NF certified. A victim of its own success, Busway line 4 attracts higher ridership than Semitan expected, pushing the system to saturation. Buses are overcrowded at peak times and nearly full off-peak. Semitan tested the Hess LighTram in November 2009 to eventually increase capacity of the system and relieve overcrowding at peak times. Though that solution wasn't implemented, Semitan decided to increase passage frequencies to less than 3 minutes at peak times. If saturation recurs, Busway line 4 may be converted into a Tramway line in the future.
Operation
The network is operated by Semitan, known as TAN for short. Semitan is responsible for the whole public transport network throughout the Nantes Metropole, and the Metropole has a majority shareholding in the company.
Stations equipment
All stations are built with all the services that a Tramway station has. All have real timepassenger informationLED displays showing real time estimated arrival of the next bus, automatic ticket machines, seating and large unified shelters made of glass.
Hours of operation
Nantes' Busway does not run 24 hours a day. Service starts at 5am and goes until 0.30am on weekdays and Sundays, and from 5am to 2.30am on Saturdays. Delays are rare and service generally runs smoothly.
Fares
The TAN network in Nantes uses paper tickets and passes, though in the near future contactless smartcards will replace it. There are no travel zones on the network in Greater Nantes. Tickets and passes allow free transfer and are universally valid on the Tramway, Busway, Nantes buses, Navibus, and suburban trains within Nantes Métropole. Tickets are not sold inside the trams, but ticket machines are present at every Tramway and Busway stations. Tickets must be validated inside the trams when boarding. There are also some staffed ticket offices opened for limited periods only.
Single trip and day tickets
issues singles trip tickets valid for one hour, a 10x saver ticket booklet valid one hour each, a discounted 10x saver ticket booklet valid one hour each, an airport transit ticket, a 24 hours ticket valid an entire day for one traveller and a 24 hours ticket valid an entire day for up to four persons. Semitan also sells Lila and Métrocéane tickets. Lila: Single trip tickets valid two hours on the Lila network and one hour on the TAN or STRAN networks when transiting from Lila, a 10x saver ticket booklet valid two hours each on the Lila network and one hour on the TAN or STRAN networks when transiting from Lila.
Monthly and annual passes
Semitan issues a wide range of monthly and annual passes for different categories of travellers depending on their age and working conditions. Free transportation is granted to travellers with low incomes. Semitan also sells monthly, termly and annual Lila, Métrocéane and Pratik+ passes, for several categories of persons depending on their age and working conditions.
Rolling stock
Citaro G
20 Mercedes-Benz Citaro G are running on Busway's line 4 on a dedicated right-of-way. Those articulated buses are 18 meters long, 2.55 meters wide and are natural gas powered only. The driver is isolated from the rest of the bus in a separate cabin. Each bus features:
