Nice Première: Ivan, could you briefly tell us about the recurrent transport issues to Sophia Antipolis?
Ivan Laurette: These problems obviously occur during rush hours, that is, between 7 and 9 in the morning and 5 and 7 in the evening. The buses almost systematically refuse passengers, and given the insufficient frequencies, it is very common to have to wait 1 hour, or even 2 hours, before being able to board a bus. These issues have worsened since the council imposed a fare reduction, and even more so since these routes became free for students.
NP: 2 hours to catch a bus must push quite a few employees in Sophia Antipolis to drive their cars?
IL: Obviously, and I am the first to do it today, and I regret it. Fortunately, I have “partners” who are also victims of these problems, with whom I have been able to establish a carpooling system. But it’s a system we endure, and we all prefer buses. Buses that work!
NP: What solutions do you think should be implemented so that everything runs smoothly?
IL: Obviously, an increase in the number of rotations during rush hours. But also the use of larger buses. On top of that, other problems arise, and users have other “demands”: improving bus routes and particularly increasing the number of neighborhoods served, minimum adherence to safety regulations (braking system, closing doors, seatbelts), improvement of bus stops’ quality, improvement of bus quality…
NP: Have you engaged in various actions in this regard?
IL: The frustration quickly became too significant for nothing to happen. The users of line 230 have thus gathered in a committee to decide on a common action so that things can change. A small core group started in July, and the group now consists of several hundred people. We have already written to the general council and received a response from the president, which for now has remained without follow-up. We have also launched [a petition](https://www.petitiononline.com/stcar/petition.html) which in less than a week has garnered several hundred signatures (an online and paper petition that we circulate on buses).
NP: Do you have any contact with the transport company?
IL: We have, but not with management. Apparently, it seems useless to seek dialogue with them since they systematically fall back on the insufficient subsidies granted by the general council to say they can’t do anything. However, we have the full support of the drivers, for whom the situation is no more pleasant.
