Basel (Basle, Bâle) is plumb on the border with France and Germany (map above, top centre). Indeed parts of "Greater" Basel are IN France and Switzerland! This makes for a fun time for public transport. In various blogs since No 3 son started commuting there (and working there) we have encountered:-
Trams from Switzerland to Germany [8]
Trams from Switzerland to Switzerland VIA France [10]
Trams from Switzerland TO France [3]
Buses to Mulhouse Airport (in France) which never leave Switzerland! [50]
Buses from Germany to Switzerland jointly operated [38]
Buses from Germany to Switzerland exclusively German run [7312]
To which we can now add ...
Tada!
Buses from France to Switzerland.
It all began when fbb was researching buses from Basel to the Airport for No 3 son who wanted to try proper public transport rather than a taxi. Enquiries on line revealed a shuttle bus route 11 ...
... from the Station at Saint Louis (in France).
It was run by Distribus.
If you like collecting logos, here is a selection associated with Distribus.
And you thought that Public Transport in this country was complicated!
Distribus is, in the very simplest of terms, the public transport "brand" for Saint Louis, France.
Saint-Louis is located at the German and Swiss borders, just north of Basel. The EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is situated on its territory. The commune of Saint-Louis also contains the former villages of Bourgfelden and Neuweg (also known as Saint-Louis-la-Chaussée, or Näiwaag in Sundgau Alsatian).
Most of the logos above are varieties of consortia, funding agencies and local authorities. The most intriguing of the collection is L K Metrocars
Under the French urban public transport system, the local authority decides what network of buses it requires, then invites companies to tender to run the whole network. In this case L K Metrocars is contracted to run Distribus.
The company name appears on all the timetable.
The LK groups consist of nine companies ...
... running buses and coaches in a variety of towns in the Haut Rhin (67), Bas Rhin (68) and Belfort (90) regions of France.
The company also runs inter-urban bus routes from Saint Louis ...
... of which the 712 is a typical example. These are also contracted, but to the region rather than the urban area.
L'exploitation du réseau Distribus a été confiée par l'agglomération à la compagnie Métro-Cars / Kunegel à travers un contrat de délégation de service public. Cette compagnie d'autocars, implantée à Saint-Louis, exploite également quelques lignes sundgauviennes du réseau départemental des Lignes de Haute-Alsace. Les bus de la compagnie permettent des échanges diversifiés entre les dix communes de la collectivité, couvrant environ 50 000 habitants, ainsi que la ville de Bâle, située sur le territoire suisse.
[sundgauviennes - Sudgau - another name for the geographic region.]
So, tomorrow, we take a look at Distribus routes that run from Saint Louis (in France) internationally to Basel in Switzerland. There are three - or is it four?
They are numbered 3, 4, 7 and 8 - or are they 603, 604, 607 and 608?
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BLUEBELLS at BLACKBURY
Yesterday was the fbb's annual trip to enjoy the bluebells.
The display was not quite as rich and thick as in previous years but still gorgeous.
Afternoon tea was taken at the Tram Station at Colyton ...
... but with only one scone. They are huuuuuge!!
The flowers appear annually at Blackbury Camp, a few miles from Seaton.
Blackbury Camp is a hillfort built during the 4th century BC. It was used by an Iron Age tribal people, probably for several hundred years.
The hillfort would have required communal effort and strong leadership to construct. Although defensible, it may not have been permanently inhabited but used as a place where produce and livestock, the wealth of the community, might have been kept and protected, routinely or in times of trouble.
The hillfort stood on an open treeless ridge, defended by a high bank made from spoil dug from a deep external ditch. It had a single gateway, on the south side; all other gaps in the bank are later breaches.
There is no public transport, but, in theory, there is a bus stop at the Hangman's Stone junction with a bus every hour (Stagecoach 9A).
The stop is not marked so fbb doesn't hold out much hope of persuading a bus to stop! From here it would be an invigorating walk!
Hmm. Maybe seek your bluebells elsewhere or, like the fbbs, go by car!
Next Basel bus blog : Thursday 10th May
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