Starting from September 1st, the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis is adapting its transport network. Reinforcements of bus lines, a temporary shuttle, a new special service for matches, and the circulation of the first extended tramway mark this start of the school year.
The patronage of the Lignes d’Azur network continues to progress. Between 2023 and 2025, the number of subscriptions increased by nearly 40%. Since the end of 2024, the network has been providing about 400,000 trips per day. To meet this demand, the Metropolis announces several changes starting September 1st.
A “Special Foot” line is being created from Plan du Var. It serves Saint-Martin-du-Var and Carros before reaching the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice. Its operation is synchronized with the matches: two and a half hours before the kickoff and 45 minutes after the end of the match.
Another novelty is the implementation of the NV30 shuttle. This small vehicle with five seats will connect the section of line 30 closed due to a private subsidence of the roadway. As the traffic is prohibited to vehicles over 3.5 tons, this shuttle takes over from Monday to Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., approximately every twenty minutes. It will remain in service until the problem is resolved.
Adapted and Reinforced Lines
Several lines are returning to their initial routes. The 60 resumes its route between Magnan and Croix de Berra via the Bellet Road. The 61 connects Magnan to Ferber via Canta Galet and Saint-Antoine-Ginestière. Lines 43 and R also resume their usual routes to the Collège de l’Archet, with the possibility to board and alight at all stops on the 43. Meanwhile, the Durandy shuttle is discontinued.
Other lines have increased frequencies. The 51 (Ferber – Mont Fabron) gets an additional bus during school periods, with a service every 18 minutes on weekdays instead of 25. On weekends, lines 50 and 51 are scheduled from Ferber to better stagger departures.
Line 63 retains and extends its three additional evening departures, tested in the summer of 2024. They are now provided in June, July, August, and September, with departures at 10 p.m., 11 p.m., and midnight from Borriglione to Cernuschi.
Line 92, connecting Isola 2000 to Nice, becomes permanent. Starting in September, it will operate from Monday to Saturday with a morning departure at 8 a.m. from Isola and a return trip in the evening at 5:10 p.m. from Nice.
Other adjustments concern line 21, which will run earlier and later depending on the day, line 32 with an additional departure on Sunday evening, and line 20, which adds a Sunday morning departure at 6:40 a.m. from Giono/Les Pugets.
Some lines slightly modify their schedules to better serve neighborhoods or establishments. That’s the case for line 7, adjusting its service to Sainte-Marie Hospital, line 31 for Madeleine Supérieure, line 81 for Goscinny High School in Drap, and line 73, which now serves the Route des Pugets in Saint-Laurent-du-Var.
Finally, line 49 is extended to Cagnes-sur-Mer Station to enhance intermodality.
The on-demand lines are also evolving. The C6 will serve Castagniers with three additional stops, as well as new points at Plan du Var, Cascade, Baus-Roux, and Pont Charles Albert. The fixed services of lines C6, C7, and C10 can be reserved up to the last minute through the internet, mobile app, or phone. A new stop “Vallon du Moulin” is created on line C32 in Roubion.
Three stops are being renamed to better reflect their daily use. The “École des Baumettes” stop becomes “Dante,” “Lavallière/Promenade” is renamed “Parc Phoenix/Promenade,” and “La Tour sur Tinée Gare” becomes simply “La Tour sur Tinée.”
The Extended Tramway Enters Service
Another significant announcement: the operational deployment of extended tramway carriages on line 1. The carriages assembled this summer are to circulate starting tomorrow, August 28, 2025. A new carriage will be added every two weeks, with a goal of eight additional carriages by January 2026.
Present this Tuesday morning, the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, expressed satisfaction with this advancement. According to him, the expansion of the service meets a need on the north-south axis: “we are offering 18,000 seats here daily for our users, with the BHNS gradually ramping up on the same axis […] we are going to have almost 40,000 additional user seats.”
The choice to extend existing carriages rather than acquire long models is explained by financial reasons. Reusing equipment already in service since 2006 helps reduce costs. However, the operation required numerous technical adjustments, notably on doors, air conditioning, and connections.
For Christophe Kaminski, deputy general manager of the Lignes d’Azur Network, “everything has evolved in eighteen years, so we must adapt, look at how we worked eighteen years ago, and find solutions that are compatible.”
The goal is to provide modernized equipment while maintaining the appearance of the current carriages. The users should not notice a visual difference despite the increased capacity.
