Post by ronturner on Feb 8, 2012 17:12:01 GMT 1
Following on from posts in another section. This may be of interest to some.
Bus transportation in France is not so well developed as in some other countries, notably UK.
Towns and cities have very good urban transport using buses, trams and metro, but inter city travel by bus is rare. Rural transportation is by no means anything like I remember in UK and is mostly non existent.
Railways are steadily closing down and buses , run by SNCF or the regional authority are taking over some routes. There are usually bus connections from major airports to nearby towns. (Example Marseilles/Aix en Provence) However competitive long distance travel such as National Express is non existent here.
Eurolines are beginning to put in an appearance on some routes from Paris, (Paris/Nantes for example) but there is a very long way to go before a true network will exist.
As far as I know bus passes for the retired do not exist here. Maybe it is not necessary because bus fares, where buses can be found, are generally very much lower than in the UK. Perhaps this is the reason why so few bus services exist.
(Example. In La Rochelle I can uses the park and ride system to leave my car on the outside of town. A return ticket for 2.50 Euro covers up to 5 people in total, allows free parking and two other bus trips in town. Subsidised of course.)
Another important issue is that pensions for retired persons are usually at a higher level than is the case for UK pensions. Again..this is changing and it is an example perhaps of how some of the EEC countries have lived beyond their means, but for the moment it is a fact and so it is not the norm to have reduced price tickets at venues like cinemas, theaters and such like for retired people. Over 60's can buy a pass for reduced cost train travel but it has to be cost effective over many journeys.
All of the above is a generalisation. Some regional authorities are more generous or do things differently than others. (Vive la difference!!)
Bus transportation in France is not so well developed as in some other countries, notably UK.
Towns and cities have very good urban transport using buses, trams and metro, but inter city travel by bus is rare. Rural transportation is by no means anything like I remember in UK and is mostly non existent.
Railways are steadily closing down and buses , run by SNCF or the regional authority are taking over some routes. There are usually bus connections from major airports to nearby towns. (Example Marseilles/Aix en Provence) However competitive long distance travel such as National Express is non existent here.
Eurolines are beginning to put in an appearance on some routes from Paris, (Paris/Nantes for example) but there is a very long way to go before a true network will exist.
As far as I know bus passes for the retired do not exist here. Maybe it is not necessary because bus fares, where buses can be found, are generally very much lower than in the UK. Perhaps this is the reason why so few bus services exist.
(Example. In La Rochelle I can uses the park and ride system to leave my car on the outside of town. A return ticket for 2.50 Euro covers up to 5 people in total, allows free parking and two other bus trips in town. Subsidised of course.)
Another important issue is that pensions for retired persons are usually at a higher level than is the case for UK pensions. Again..this is changing and it is an example perhaps of how some of the EEC countries have lived beyond their means, but for the moment it is a fact and so it is not the norm to have reduced price tickets at venues like cinemas, theaters and such like for retired people. Over 60's can buy a pass for reduced cost train travel but it has to be cost effective over many journeys.
All of the above is a generalisation. Some regional authorities are more generous or do things differently than others. (Vive la difference!!)
