With the aim of equipping the Greater Nancy conurbation with a high performance bus service while providing a sustainable response to urban infrastructure development needs, a EUR 55 million loan agreement between Greater Nancy and the European Investment Bank (EIB) was signed on Thursday 7 February 2013 by Greater Nancy’s President, André Rossinot, and EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive.
At a time when the EIB is stepping up its support for innovative job creating projects thanks to the increase in its capital, this long-maturity loan on favourable terms based on the EIB’s AAA credit rating is of key importance to Greater Nancy. Against the background of shrinking credit markets, it makes it possible to optimise the project’s overall finance plan.
This loan will finance the acquisition of the high performance buses and construction of the facilities necessary to operate line 2 of the network. Particular attention will be paid to the balanced and sustainable development of the conurbation in line with transport performance and reliability requirements.
This urban transport project will make a substantial contribution to:
- Improving the frequency, comfort and cost of the public transport service. With a bus every 5 minutes at peak times and every 8 minutes at off-peak times, line 2 will be able to accommodate 16 000 passengers a day on a service operating between 5 am and 11 pm. Equipped with large bay windows, these innovative high performance buses also offer all the comfort and performance advantages of trams, thanks in particular to their dedicated lanes, at a third of the cost;
- Enhancing the quality of life of the people of Greater Nancy by improving the service throughout the conurbation and providing easy access for people with reduced mobility;
- Developing alternatives to car transport by allowing cyclists to use the bus lanes and board the buses at off-peak times.