Free buses in Niort celebrate their fifth anniversary. In September 2017, the city launched free urban buses and today it is one of the 35 cities in France to offer this transport to its inhabitants. Among them, we find municipalities such as Dunkirk, Cahors or Châteauroux. The free buses cover 40 municipalities of the Niortaise agglomeration, which represents an area of 821 km². After five years of service, the free service appeals to many users encountered at Place de la Brèche, one of the hubs of the bus network in the agglomeration.
– Julien Provoyeur
From an attendance point of view, between 2016, the year before free admission and 2019, the year before the pandemic, the number of trips increased by 33%. “I didn’t even know what it was like to take the bus. Now I take it every day! It saves me having to take my car, there is no space and the parking lots are expensive”explains Brigitte, a resident of Niort.