Semitan is the company responsible for the comprehensive public transport network of

Nantes Métropole The Nantes Metropolis (, ) is the '' métropole'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Nantes. It is located in the Loire-Atlantique department, in the Pays de la Loire region, western France. It was created in January 2015, repl ...

, the urban community of the French city of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. The network operated by Semitan is marketed under the name and logo TAN and this abbreviated form is also sometimes used to refer to the company. Semitan is itself an acronym for the Société d'Economie Mixte des Transports de l'Agglomération Nantaise. The TAN network comprises three Tramway lines, two Busway lines, an extensive network of

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es, an airport shuttle bus line, two Navibus lines and a night bus network. A single common fare system covers all these modes and also extends to suburban trains within the Métropole boundaries, although these trains are not operated by Semitan. Semitan is a mixed private and public sector company. As of 2007, its principal shareholders are Nantes Métropole (65%), the transport group

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...

(14.99%), banking group Caisse d'Epargne (10%) and the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Nantes (10%). It has been responsible through renewable 6 years "public service delegations", for the public transports of Nantes since it was formed in 1979, although the precise area covered has varied over the years.

Organization

Currently, the TAN network comprises three Tramway lines, one Busway line, two Navibus lines, an extensive

network that includes 56 lines and a night bus network. Additionally, Semitan has an exclusive agreement with French national train operator

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

to allow TAN passengers to ride suburban trains within the urban area limits with a valid TAN ticket or pass. TAN also operates "Navette Aéroport" (airport shuttle bus) between downtown

and

Nantes Atlantique Airport Nantes Atlantique Airport (, formerly known as ''Aéroport Château Bougon'') is an international airport serving Nantes, France. It is located southwest of the city, in Bouguenais. The airport is operated by the ''Chambre de commerce et d'i ...

Fares

The TAN network in Nantes uses paper tickets and passes along with contact less smart cards. There are no travel zones on the network in Greater Nantes. Tickets and passes allow free transfer and are universally valid on the Tramway, Busway, Nantes

es, Navibus, and suburban trains within Nantes Métropole. Ticket machines (which accept cash and credit cards) are present at every Tramway and Busway stations. There are also some staffed ticket offices open for limited periods only. Also, most newsagents sell some tickets and passes. Like many public transport systems in Europe, TAN operates on a

proof-of-payment Proof-of-payment (POP) or proof-of-fare (POF) is an honor-based fare collection system used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, passengers are required to carry a paper ...

system. The network is patrolled by fare inspectors equipped with handheld card readers. Passengers traveling without a valid ticket are straightaway asked about their identity and fined €46.50 (amounts may vary depending the nature of the infraction).

Single trip and day tickets

Semitan issues singles trip tickets (Ticket 1 h) valid for one hour, which costs €1.50 a 10x saver ticket booklet (Carnet de 10 tickets 1h)(costing €13.80) valid one hour each, a discounted 10x saver ticket booklet (Carnet de 10 tickets 1h - Tarif réduit) valid one hour each, an airport transit ticket (Ticket navette aéroport), a 24 hours ticket (Ticket 24h)(€4.4) valid an entire day for one traveller and a 24 hours ticket valid an entire day for up to four persons (Ticket 24h/4 personnes). Semitan also sells Lila and Métrocéane tickets. Lila: Single trip tickets (Ticket unité Lila) valid two hours on the Lila network (departemental buses in

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

) and one hour on the TAN or STRAN (

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

buses) networks when transiting from Lila, a 10x saver ticket booklet (Carnet de 10 tickets Lila) valid two hours each on the Lila network and one hour on the TAN or STRAN networks when transiting from Lila.

Monthly and annual passes

Semitan issues a wide range of monthly and annual passes for different categories of travellers depending on their age and working conditions. Free transportation is granted to travellers with low revenues. Semitan also sells monthly, termly and annual Lila, Métrocéane and Pratik+ passes, for several categories of persons depending on their age and working conditions.

Traffic

In 2011, 116.5 million journeys were made on the TAN network, where a journey is defined as a single boarding on a single vehicle. Of these 28.7 million were on Tramway line 1, 19.1 million on line 2, 18.7 million on line 3, 7 million on the Busway line 4, and 43 million on the rest of the network. On a typical weekday during the school term in 2011, 481.600 journeys were made on the network, of which 266.300 were on the tramway network. In providing this service, the cumulative distance travelled by the Semitan fleet in 2011 was approximately 24.3 million kilometers, of which 5.5 million were run by the Tramway and Busway, 18.8 million by Semitan owned buses, and a further 4.7 million by chartered buses.

Fleet

As of 2022, the TAN in service fleet included: * 91 trams * 140 standard buses * 264 articulated buses * 36 minibuses

References

External links

Semitan Official Site

Tan Express

Omnibus Nantes
{{Authority control Public transport operators in France Transdev Transport in Nantes