Frequency, time savings, stops… everything you need to know about the future “tramway”-style bus line between Sète and Balaruc-le-Vieux

La RD2, au niveau du Secteur 3, à Balaruc-les-Bains. La partie la plus urbaine de l’ensemble du tracé. – Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée

Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée entame, en ce début d’année, la requalification de la route entre le Pôle d’échanges multimodal de Sète et Balaruc-le-Vieux. Une nouvelle ligne de transport collectif sera créée.

A ring road. A device. An urban boulevard. Call it what you will, but the redevelopment of the RD2 this year will necessarily transform, in the long term, traffic between Sète and Balaruc-le-Vieux. Sète Agglo, which is leading this connection project between the north and south of its territory, wanted a "strong axis" along the Etang de Thau. This is what is emerging, with this project costing between 26 and 30 million euros; in total.

Buses, like "tramways", will have priority over cars

"The idea is to create an electric bus line “express” which will circulate on a reserved lane over 9.6 km, from the Multimodal Exchange Center (PEM) of Sète to the Balaruc-le-Vieux Exchange Center, completed last October", explains Eric Vandeputte, director of mobility at the Agglo. Buses, like trams, will have priority over cars, with the aim of encouraging motorists to switch to public transport. This road is used daily by approximately 15,000 vehicles.

"All lines in the northern sector of the territory will now terminate at the Balaruc-le-Vieux shopping center", adds Eric Vandeputte. The restructured SAM network will allow a “star” lines to Balaruc-le-Vieux. The “express” exclusively providing the link to Sète. Enough to make the RD2 a more peaceful road than today ?

Eight stops and rotations every 20 minutes

This is the answer that Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée wishes to provide. Buses will run on dedicated central lanes, with priority at traffic lights. The “Express” line, which will have eight stops (our infographic) promises rotation frequencies every 20 minutes throughout the day, from 6:45 a.m. to 9 p.m. The travel time between Sète (Noël-Guignon) and Balaruc-le-Vieux (shopping center) would be estimated at 18 minutes.

Isolate public transport, while making car traffic more fluid

One of the ambitions of SAM's Urban Travel Plan for 2020-2030, "is to reduce the modal share of private cars by 9%", by increasing other modes of travel. This is one of the objectives of the requalification of RD2.

These developments are intended to improve the circulation of public transport in the area, by isolating them from traffic. Furthermore, the traffic study in the area, "supported by a dynamic simulation, showed that such developments will make it possible to improve the circulation of private vehicles wishing to enter Sète", underlines the Agglo.

By comparing the intersections and roundabouts on the axis, it was noted that the roundabouts will allow traffic to flow more smoothly. At the entrance to Sète, we observe a time saving of almost 3 minutes for public transport, over a length of 2 km.

The project route only begins from the south of the Clémenceau interchange, in Sète. Delivery of the section going to the Peyrade canal is scheduled for September 2025. Work on the networks is just starting. After crossing the Peyrade canal, the line will pass in front of the former Lafarge cement works, which will, in the long term, accommodate a car park and an “Active Hall”, the shape and size of which we do not yet know. destination.

L’Agglo is counting on early 2027 to finalize the entire route

The bus will then travel along the pond, past the President company and the Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée headquarters, to reach Balaruc-les-Bains. It will in turn serve Horizon Sud, Bas Fourneaux, and the biscuit factory district, housed in the old Balaruc-les-Bains station. This last section is the most urban of the entire route.

The express line will continue towards the north, on an undeveloped section, because traffic conditions there are fluid, until the entrance to the Balaruc Loisirs commercial zone. Finally, the “express” will therefore have the Balaruc-le-Vieux bus station as its terminus. The Agglo is counting on early 2027 to finalize the entire route.

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