Travelling in Lyon

Summary of topic: efficient and easy

When I first arrived I saw all the buses and trams going round the busy city, and the busy metro stations. It honestly made me feel so anxious. What I will tell you though is its really not that bad, I actually found it easier to take public transport here than in the UK!

TCL System

In Lyon, the transport system is called TCL*, like ScotRail for Scotland. You can download the TCL app which is so useful. You put in your location and the street you want to arrive at and it gives you all possible ways of getting there using TCL transport and walking. For example, you may need to take a bus, a metro and walk for a bit. It gives you exact timings too. Believe it or not I have gotten lost more in Scotland than I have in Lyon!

Travel Card

If you are going to France as a language assistant, during the first meeting with your advisor they should talk you through the travel system in your city. I was reimbursed for half of the cost of the monthly travel pass. It is definitely worth getting the monthly pass every month rather than paying as you go as you will end up using public transport a lot in Lyon. 

Here is some information of the TCL travel card:

Cost: 5 euros

Monthly pass: 32.50 euros (every month you will be reimbursed half of this). The monthly pass is unlimited use on the tram, bus and metro.

If you don't travel a lot, you could always get the card and then buy a bundle of 10 journeys. This saves you buying paper tickets which are very easily lost.

To get my card I received an application form from my advisor. Once I got my card I had to make an account and register my card online*. Once your card is registered, you can buy tickets online* which will go on to your card.

IMPORTANT: Whenever you purchase tickets online you must then go and "recharge" it at a "borne e-Tecely" before you scan your card at a barrier otherwise your tickets will not work.

The machine will look like this:

There are other machines that look similar and you should get an email to not confuse them with a recharging machine:

Tickets

You can buy individual paper tickets at metro and tram stations. You can also buy them on a bus, however no one really does to ensure the bus is efficient. You also dont need a separate ticket if you were to go on a bus, metro etc so you can buy all your tickets at a station machine. If you were to go for the cheapest ticket it would be valid for one hour, unlimited travel on a bus, metro or tram. You can also get unlimited travel for 24h tickets, there are many different types.

Using Public Transport

Buses

They are really reliable. In my whole time at Lyon I never experienced a very late bus. It would be a maximum of 5 minutes late. The buses are clean and they have screens announcing which stop is next. 

I have never felt unsafe on a bus early morning or at night. To get on to the bus, you'd usually enter at the door of the driver. Depending on the stop you can also enter at other doors on the bus which will automatically open. There will be some small machines for you to swipe your card or insert your ticket into. Here is the machine:

You will hear a "beep" if it is done right. This means you are free to go and sit down. No need to worry about asking for a stop or anything. If you hear three beeps in a row it means its not validated. Sometimes this happens so try again. If it persists it may be that your card doesn't work or your ticket has run out of its unlimited use. You can always go and ask the bus driver for a ticket if this happens. If you wanted to risk it without a ticket, they do random checks on public transport and you could be fined. I've had a few random checks so it does happen fairly often.

Some of the buses have a C in front of it and some don't. For example, there is such thing as a C26 and just a 26. So be careful with this, they are not the same! The only reason there is a C in front is because it's a newer service so its faster. They will have different stops so if your app tells you C26 make sure it has that C when you get on!

Trams

I really liked the tram, its super fast! Although, I must warn you it does get really busy. If you have to stand, try find somewhere you can hold onto because with the twists and turns it can be hard to balance! You will find the same validation machines on the tram too, just like the bus. They also have a screen and they announce the stops so you can read and listen. When it's crowded, to get out it might be a bit harder. Don't worry, just say "pardon" really loudly and excuse yourself through the swarm of people.... I am very soft spoken and I managed just fine so you will too!

There are 6 trams in Lyon: T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6.

Metro

I was surprised at how good the metro service is here. They are frequent, clean and safe! It works similar to how a metro would be in the UK. You just scan your card at the barrier, or insert your ticket. Then you're free to go to whichever metro you choose. There are 4 metros in Lyon: Metro A,B,C & D. They are connected to each other so you can ride the Metro D and be connected to Metro B. Also, they have connections with the trams too. There is no screen announcing the stop, but there is a voiceover. I'd make sure you are looking out for your stop, you can read the station name when the metro stops at each station. Or, they have the stops written on the top inside of the metro you're in like in the ones in the UK so you can follow it from there.

Let me know if I've missed anything out and I can help you further!

*Please note that all hyperlinks are in the colour red.