“Old Bus in Nostalgic Colors of Reims’ Past Returns to Circulation”

Since April, an old bus in the colors of the fire Tur network (Urban Transports of Reims) has been circulating again in Reims (Marne). The initiative arouses support and nostalgia.

Making new out of old is a recipe that often works well. In any case, for the bus, it pays. I’Association for the protection of urban transport in Reims (Astur) has just proved it.

Since April 2023, there has been a scent of the 1990s in the streets of downtown Reims. It must be said that an old flocked bus like at the time of Urban Transport in Reims (Tur, the future Citura) is running again (on diesel, but it is not subject to the Crit’air sticker). We had not seen such a livery on the streets since 2007.

Cyril Regnier, the president of Astur, shared his great enthusiasm with France 3 Champagne-Ardenne in a long dossier produced by Layla Landry. Then answered some questions for this article.

What is this bus?

“It’s an old bus from Reims. It is still allowed to drive. We put it back into circulation in this color to pay homage to the yellow and black checkered livery that there was in the 1990s, at the “Era of the Tur. They represent the arrival of computers, and the most emblematic color of Reims. We who are in our thirties or a little more, it brings back so many memories…”

Where did you pick it up?

“On the Caen side. More precisely in Ouistreham. It was the shuttle between the ferry terminal and the city center of Caen. We were able to have it for a symbolic 200 euros. We have this vehicle [depuis 2017]. And since then, we’ve been working on it non-stop. This is the kind of vehicle that always needs to be maintained. We updated the chassis, the brakes, the suspensions, the bodywork, the interior… which we improved as we went along. We were already doing a few outings in 2017, without it being restored or in colors like today; then it broke down on the eve of covid and it hadn’t recirculated since.”

How does this bus run?

“We do not run it on commercial lines of the Citura. This bus is an old collector’s vehicle, which drives for an association, and which will take passengers for leisure. We made an outing [le 15 avril] on a tourist circuit in Reims. People were presented with all the anecdotes on the evolution of neighborhoods and the transport network.” (see the publication Facebook below for example)

How will we be able to take advantage of it, what will you propose?

“We have not yet decided on the next dates, how we are going to do it. We are planning an outing in the vineyard during the month of May: between Reims and Épernay and all the surrounding towns. Before the covid, we also did shuttle to Axo Plage, in Monampteuil [Aisne; ndlr] : I hope we will do it again this summer. We also want to start the tour of Reims again on Halloween: we decorate the bus on this theme, and we go around the neighborhoods so that the children go candy hunting. The outings will be around 10 euros per person to participate in fuel, maybe two euros for the circuits in Reims … It depends.

What does this vehicle bring?

“It binds all the people of Reims. They settle in the vehicle and there is a great social bond that is created. We love to see that, this atmosphere. Those who saw it again with its checkerboards told me their anecdotes, shared their nostalgia, told me about their years at school, college, high school, college. [le 15 avril] want to go back there. The atmosphere, the noises, the smell: everything is vintage. This vehicle is from the 1990s. And if people want to come because they are curious: we like the curious.”