Citéline bus: the criticized network will be changed, but …

Slogan of the union which administers the network of city buses in northern Moselle and the mapping: é-co-no-mies. Faced with this premise, a misunderstanding, another reality, that of users, especially schoolchildren, the latter catalyzing the detonating effect: deletions of lines, trips, unserved stops, mismatch of schedules with class exits, longer journeys, crowded buses during Covid periods …

–

Horizon 2026 on the one hand, everyday life turned upside down on the other

In this return, very (very) numerous are the feedback from TransFensch customers in the Thionville basin, dissatisfied with the service provided. The FCPE (Federation of parents’ councils) has stepped up to the plate. Calls from individuals are still raining down in the offices of TransFensch (which operates the network) and Smitu (authority which manages it). Why have we come to this and how does the union intend to go about resolving the situation?

Argument n ° 1, to understand the context, and put forward by the Smitu (Mixed Syndicate of Urban Transport) Thionville Fensch: the Citézen project, to come. Established by a research firm, and presented to Smitu elected officials last February, the new route foreshadows what will be Citézen, the network of (electric) buses with a high level of service. That is 32 kilometers of bus lines divided into two structuring lines, the first going from Hayange to Basse-Ham, and the second combing Basse-Ham to the P + R of Metzange, via Bel-Air. This 200 million euro project, whose stake is the public transport of tomorrow, should become reality in 2026. The elected officials see far. Not the users, for whom the daily life, since September, is deeply upset.

–

Changes will occur over time

One thing is certain: the merger of city and school buses, coupled with the appearance of correspondence – which worked on paper but not in the field, recognizes the Smitu -, was not the subject of a communication sufficient, in due time, for all users. What Roger Schreiber, outgoing president of Smitu, newly re-elected, and his vice-presidents agree today.

In response to the multiple complaints, the first reaction was urgent: changes were made to the Thionville / Algrange link (line 46) and the direct Thionville / Lycée Maryse-Bastié to Hayange (line 36 whose timetables have been adapted). But the work of revising the traffic plan turns out to be much broader. And the changes will take place over time. This is the n ° 2 argument for bringing down the wind of protest. There’s work…

Return to “normality” in a few weeks

Beyond the feedback from parents, school heads are also asked to provide additional information, in order to stick as closely as possible to the realities of the moment. It will also be a question of taking into account the opinion of all those who regularly use city buses.

“80% of the problems should be resolved by the end of the week,” Roger Schreiber pledged Wednesday, September 9. However, that was without counting those who had not yet come to the ears of the Smitu. “The situation should be normalized in a few weeks maximum,” promise officials. There is still, for sure, some frying on the lines.

–