Le Havre's new tramway was inaugurated on December 12 2012. As a symbol of the city's renewal, the new system is part of a two-and-a-half year effort by the community's public authority (CODAH) to modernize its transport system.
A strengthened, more efficient transportation system
Tramway enables the network to better connect all the passengers of the city.
The tramway's commissioning is part of a comprehensive restructuring of the community's transportation network, begun in 2010 by Transdev's Marketing & Territories Department working with the local teams of CTPO (Compagnie de Transport de la Porte Oceane). The network had been the focus of a Transdev Mobility Observatory review in November 2010 to better understand the needs and expectations of users and non-users and identify challenges and opportunities for increasing the system's attractiveness. An objective was set to make every effort to offer a true alternative to private car and increase customer loyalty.
The new network, renamed LiA, includes:
- 5 High Service lines (Tramways, Funicular, High Service Bus) with a frequency of 5 to 15 minutes and extended hours,
- 6 main bus lines, connecting to the tramway and regional express lines andlines with downtown connections, with frequencies from 15 to 25 minutes,
- 5 additional regular service bus lines offering local service and connections with the essential downtown lines,
- 1 simplified, customized line serving the industrial and port area,
- 2 transportation on demand lines: Fil'Bus for surrounding towns linked with the regular network and Mobi'Fil for persons with reduced mobility,
- A new range of services: Park and Ride, bike parks, automatic transport ticketing... and soon an e-shop.
- 13 km for two north-south lines
- 23 stations,
- 1 tunnel of 575 meters,
- 22 train cars and 250 people per car,
- 56,000 trips per day,
- 1.1 million kilometers annually
- 19 km/h commercial speed kilometers annually,
- 90,000 people living within 5 minutes of a station,
- 1 unique electronic ticket valid on all new network services,
- 50,000 m2 of grass, 500 additional trees
- 28 tons of CO2 per day avoided through electric system
This restructuring enables:
- effective integration of tramway and bus,
- a "conveyor" effect, across the urban area,
- an extension of the coverage and frequency of service, responding to the Observatory results showing that 85% of travelers are willing to walk five minutes further to use a bus passing twice as frequently,
- better connections between the main towns of Le Havre's metropolitan area,
- more efficient connections to large shopping centers, new neighborhoods and the Port and Industrial zone.