Last week we put one of our refugees onto a bus from Montauban to Paris (15 euros, overnight trip) as the proliferation of low cost bus lines makes travel between big cities affordable for students and the less well-off a possibility. We used
Isilines but the market leader is probably
Ouibus, part of SNCF.
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| Pic. MaxPPP |
The so-called Macron buses, after the current President who de-regulated buses when a Minister, have been criticised, mainly by rail unions, as being unreliable and jeopardising safety by using poorly trained staff. But largely this new freedom has been welcomed by users and the buses are modern, clean, reliable and above all, cheap.
Imagine then the feelings of the 40 or so passengers on a Paris/Nantes
Ouibus when the driver, after losing his way on several occasions decided that even with his GPS he could not get back on track, so he just parked the bus and left it and his passengers by the roadside. The company sent a replacement driver who did know the way and passengers arrived at Nantes three hours late.
Ouibus has refunded passengers' fares and has promised an enquiry.
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