Is Nouméa about to win the prize for the most expensive bus ticket in the world? Yes, according to data collected by NC la 1ère: at 500 Pacific francs one way, without the possibility of a monthly subscription, the Tanéo network takes the prize for the most expensive public transport, all categories combined.
The dizzying increase in the price of the Tanéo network, which follows the serious crisis experienced by New Caledonia, was singled out by the UFC-Que Choisir. “At 500 Pacific francs per trip, Nouméa will undoubtedly be the city where public transport will be the most expensive in the world, protested the president of the UFC-Que Choisir, Gilles Vernier, at the beginning of October, asking “vigorously” to the manager of the urban transport network of the Noumean agglomeration of “review your copy”.
Without claiming to be exhaustive, NC la 1ère carried out a comparison of the prices charged on the Tanéo network according to several criteria. And each time, Nouméa finishes on the first step of the podium for the highest price.
Thus, the major capitals of the world, although renowned for charging high prices – to be compared with an often very extensive network and a high level of service in terms of timetables and frequency of passage – are less expensive than Tanéo. It costs 251.72 francs for a one-way bus ticket in London, 256.40 francs in Paris, 354.28 francs in New York. In Sydney, which has several price ranges depending on the distance (from 0 to 3 km, from 3 to 8 km and beyond 8 km), the most expensive ticket, at 411.05 francs, remains lower than in Nouméa.
The urban area of Nouméa and its approximately 180,000 inhabitants has a higher cost of public transport than in London where 9 million people live. • ©C.Mannevy/NC la 1ere/Flourish Map
Worse, all these cities have monthly or weekly subscriptions which significantly reduce the bill. So in our most expensive example, Sydney, the weekly package with unlimited travel costs 3,670 francs. A Tanéo user must pay 5,000 francs just for a return trip from home to work 5 days a week.
Nouméa fares no better compared to French urban areas of similar size (between 180,000 and 220,000 inhabitants). The comparison is again to the disadvantage of the Tanéo network. In Greater Reims, the bus ticket costs 214.66 francs, compared to 190.82 francs in Limoges and finally 202.72 francs in Brest and Nîmes.
Unlike Tanéo, all these cities also offer advantageous subscriptions, as well as “solidarity rates” intended for unemployed people.
Unlike Tanéo, all these cities also offer advantageous subscriptions, as well as “solidarity rates” intended for unemployed people. Among our examples, the city with the “most expensive” monthly rate, Nîmes, has a monthly subscription of 5,336 francs. Based on 20 working days per month, the resident of Nouméa or Greater Nouméa must pay 20,000 francs for a single daily round trip.
In cities of similar size in France, bus transport is almost half as expensive. • ©C.Mannevy/NC la 1ere/Flourish App
Reputed to be more expensive than France, the capitals of the overseas territories all do better than Nouméa (with the exception of Wallis-et-Futuna, Mayotte and Sant-Pierre-et-Miquelon which do not have an urban public transport network comparable).
In Papeete, the bus ticket costs 200 francs, while the round trip costs 340 francs. In Saint-Denis de La Réunion, the single ticket costs 155.03 francs, while it costs 172.91 francs in Fort-de-France, and 214.65 francs in Pointe-à-Pitre. , and at 238.41 francs in Cayenne.
Since salaries and the cost of living are not the same, does Nouméa fare better, once we compare the monthly cost of travel to the average salary? Here again, the answer is negative.
Compared to the average net monthly salary, Nouméa remains the city where traveling by bus is the most expensive. • ©C.Mannevy/NC la 1ere/Flourish App
Thus, you have to pay 5.56% of the average monthly salary in New Caledonia to travel 20 days per month with one round trip per day on the Tanéo network.
Sydney, where transport is particularly expensive, comes far behind, at 3.38% of the average salary, while New York (2.12%) Paris (2.52%) and London (2.57%) remain below the 3% mark.
The large French cities in our example are all below 2% (1.60% for Reims, 1.62% for Limoges, 1.78% for Brest, 1.97% for Nîmes.)
Overseas, the large cities that we have selected are more expensive than France but do not pass the 3% mark: in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupeans spend the equivalent of 2.31% of the average net salary to travel, compared to 1.97% in Fort-de-France (Martinique), 1.61% in Saint-Denis de La Réunion, 2.56% in Cayenne and, finally 2.76% for the inhabitants of Papeete ( French Polynesia).
