It is beautiful, it looks proud, and moreover, the tram in Nice runs well! After a few weeks of operation, the report on its commissioning has come in. The new mode of transportation is a success. Far from being empty words, the figures provided by Yvette Lartigau, Director of Transport at the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolitan Community, support this.
With 21 hours of service from Monday to Sunday, the tram has transported over one million people. The milestone of the millionth passenger was surpassed during the weekend of December 15 and 16. Today, it’s estimated that around 55,000 passengers use the tram each day. These are significant numbers, as other French networks typically reach this goal within a year.
Across the network, there’s a “camel effect.” “Normally, we should have two peak hours, one in the morning and one in the evening, but here there’s only one in the evening,” Yvette Lartigau ironically states. It could have been imagined that this phenomenon was related to the “discovery” syndrome, but no, people persist, and the traffic is significant.” The busiest stops in this regard are tightly grouped together between Masséna, Jean Médecin, and the SNCF Thiers Station. The number of validations fluctuates between 35,500 and 32,400 per week.
The people of Nice love and respect it.
For the moment, Nicolas Deschamps, the tramway director, can rejoice: “very little vandalism has been reported.” The tram is in good hands. Serious hands because safety is an important aspect of its credibility. In fact, a monitoring agreement between the police and the tram’s management has been established. Inspections by both Ligne d’Azur agents and law enforcement can occur unexpectedly.
However, the report highlights certain points that need correction. The passage time should decrease to around 4 minutes to allow for smoother traffic flow. This would require increasing the service offer by 40 to 75%. The adjustment of traffic lights will be further optimized “currently, we’re at 70% of its potential, knowing that 100% is not possible,” assures Yannick Laurens, General Director of ST2N (Ligne Azur). Bus lines 4, 24, and 22 are experiencing some disruptions that should be resolved either by establishing a shuttle or by increasing the frequency of buses on these lines.
There were concerns that the arrival of the tramway would cause nearby major bus lines to decline, but that has not been the case.
This venture is a great success. Smiles are evident, the results are positive. The milestone of two million is eagerly anticipated by CANCA and ST2N.
