Phoebus is an alternative name for Apollo, who, in common with all of the Greek/Roman gods was very much a multi-tasking deity. He was God of music, poetry, art, oracles, archery, plague, medicine, sun, light and knowledge. In French he is spelled Phébus ...
... the God of sun, light and public transport!
Thus yet another clever French brand name for the urban bus network in the Versailles area. Note, by the way, that the town is not, as often quoted, "a suburb of Paris", it is a separate community with its own administration. You would be thrown in the Tower for suggesting that HMQ's Windsor pad was in "a suburb of London"!
Thus yet another clever French brand name for the urban bus network in the Versailles area. Note, by the way, that the town is not, as often quoted, "a suburb of Paris", it is a separate community with its own administration. You would be thrown in the Tower for suggesting that HMQ's Windsor pad was in "a suburb of London"!
Upon arrival at Versailles Château station it was obvious that there were plenty of buses (click on Streetview pic to enlarge).
It was very soon apparent that the town buses stopped at the roadside and the bus station was for longer distance routes. fbb's schedule did not allow for a full investigation of the latter, but a few pictures offered some sort of transient record.
Transdev were operators f some rural services for the "Plaine de Versailles" local authority ...
... mainly infrequent or peak time only services ...
... but with very nice buses!
But there were buses in an identical livery operated by Lacroix.
In France, almost all bus services are tendered and the tender usualy requires the operator to use the standard livery for the area. Operator names are secondary.
Also spotted was a bus with the odd name "Sqy", possibly pronounced "squee".
Also spotted was a bus with the odd name "Sqy", possibly pronounced "squee".
fbb spotted a very smart articulated single decker ...
... operating a service to Saint Quentin-en-Yvalines (a nearby town) ...
... hence the network name. In case you wondered who SQY bus actually are (and you were curious, weren't you?); it is a wholly owned subsidiary of RATP, the Paris City Transport operator. Imagine Transport for London operating buses in Southend!
S. Quentin bottom left - Versailes estate top right
... hence the network name. In case you wondered who SQY bus actually are (and you were curious, weren't you?); it is a wholly owned subsidiary of RATP, the Paris City Transport operator. Imagine Transport for London operating buses in Southend!
And you will have noticed that everything has the wiggly
__________stif
logo, applied in white.
Le Syndicat des Transports d'Île-de-France (STIF), établissement public administratif, est l'autorité organisatrice des transports de la région Île-de-France. Les membres du STIF sont La Région Île-de-France et les départements de cette région : Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Val-d'Oise et Yvelines.
Think, for a UK example, of something like a Passenger Transport Authority, a political co-ordinating and planning structure. You may remember that fbb's Paris tickets were branded (and thus valid) on the designated range of STIF services.
Well now; your blogging globetrotter (?) had to have a ride on something, surely? What better than to attempt a ride from Versailles Château Rive Gauche all the way to Versailles Rive Droite. Lacking any advance information, could fbb and his pal find their way by bus and without the help of a safety net?
We will see tomorrow!
Le Syndicat des Transports d'Île-de-France (STIF), établissement public administratif, est l'autorité organisatrice des transports de la région Île-de-France. Les membres du STIF sont La Région Île-de-France et les départements de cette région : Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Val-d'Oise et Yvelines.
Think, for a UK example, of something like a Passenger Transport Authority, a political co-ordinating and planning structure. You may remember that fbb's Paris tickets were branded (and thus valid) on the designated range of STIF services.
We will see tomorrow!
Next Phébus blog : Wednesday 13th May
http://www.travelinesw.com/swe/XSLT_TTB_REQUEST?language=en&line=44FBB&lineVer=1&sup=%20&net=swe&project=y10&outputFormat=0&command=direct&itdLPxx_displayHeader=false&itdLPxx_sessionID=EFA02_63502312&itdLPxx_operatorCodeForTTB=SQ - not one of yours is it??!!
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