A new extended line from Trignac to Saint-Marc where the population has exploded in recent years. Another to connect the west of the city, Kerlédé to the foot of Petit-Morocco. The HélYce network will expand in the coming years. In total, 40 new buses put into circulation between 2025 and 2027 and the town hall to renew its fleet has chosen electric. “Natural gas is not emission-free, hydrogen is not yet reliable and remains very expensive, so we were left with this option of electric” explains Christophe Cotta, assistant in charge of mobility. The other buses will be converted to electric as well. “Eventually, our entire fleet will be driving without CO2 emissions and without noise,” adds Mayor David Samzun. Only one regret for him:Initially, I pleaded for hydrogen. But it is a technology that is still too immature and with electricity, we are not insulting the future, we can easily convert when the time comes and switch to hydrogen when it is ready.”.
A project with strong financial stakes because it is necessary to renovate the roads, to green the roads, to install cycle paths, not to mention the development of the depots with the battery recharging system: “there is nothing for 48 million euros works” indicates Christophe Cotta. Added to this is the price of buses: on average around 400,000 euros per electric bus, battery included. “This is the price to pay to reduce pollution in the Saint-Nazaire basin” says the town hall again, recalling that the mobility budget is 45% financed by companies. For the moment because the Medef has asked for its deletion.