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France's cities are served by urban buses and a taxi-bus service connects many rural towns; find out about these and the long distance coach services...
Most
of the départements in France have
their own government-approved regional bus service.
Fares tend to be
inexpensive, but rural services can be limited, especially on weekends. Buses
usually run from 05:30 to 20:30, with many in towns and cities running to
00:30. Night services are provided in large towns until approximately 05:00.
Buses are identified by
their number and the direction it is going in. Bus stops are indicated on the street
by a bus shelter or sign. In some cities and tickets can be bought on the bus
and in others from a ticket machine before boarding.
For regular travellers, it
is better to get a bus card or pass, which can be purchased either on the bus
or at local bus agencies. For more information see the individual operators'
websites. Many offer the opportunity to recharge the pass online.
The city of Dunkirk offers free public transport to registered residents and Niort offers free bus journeys to its citizens.
Navettes also operate in some cities. These are shuttle buses which run between two points, for example – train stations and airport terminals or from one train station to another.
Long Distance Coaches
The
implementation of Macron Law saw the liberalisation of the long-distance bus
market and travelling by coach has become an alternative for travelling cheaper
in France. There have been extensive improvements to the long-distance bus
network. Coaches are modern and comfortable, They offer on board services such
are free Wi-Fi, power outlets and toilet facilities.
There are a number of
operators which provide coach services between major towns and to and from
neighbouring countries.
BlaBlaBus (previously OUIBUS) is the SNCF long-distance bus travel service which
offers numerous bus lines to 400 destinations in France and Europe. The
company offers comfortable, reclining XL seats, toilets, free WiFi, electrical
outlets and air conditioning.
SNCF
Buses Site offers ticket booking on the BlaBlaBus long
distance bus network
FlixBus is a long distance bus travel service created in Germany, covers many journeys in France. Available services include the FlixBus App, toilets, free WiFi, electrical outlets and air conditioning. FlixBus also took over the MegaBus network in continental Europe.
Eurolines provides a
service to and from France from other countries at low prices. It combines the
services of 29 independent coach companies.
Isilines
buses are now also part of the FlixBus and SNCF Network
Most French
cities have a bus station known as an "autogare" or a
"gare routière". For a list of bus
stations
Tickets can be bought via the operator websites or via price comparism websites.