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Lyon has a public transit network with almost every mode conceivable, from trams to funiculars to metros to funiculars. Check out our latest video to learn all about it!
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Ever wondered why your city’s transit just doesn’t seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!
Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.
21 Comments
I’ve lived in lyon. The tram is abysmally slow around 14km/h. on average. It is super frustrating to use as it can take a long time to cover a ridiculously small distance. It was my only feasible choice for commute. Very often with tramways they lay only one track for cost reduction so tramways have to wait for other tramways to pass. It also shares the road with cars. Too many people made it super cramped inside. Subways although more expensive are way more efficient.
I am genuinely amazed by the maps in all of your videos. They make it’s so much easier to get situated in what you are talking about. I am curious if you’d make them yourself from scratch or use some sort of software?😊
The big issue with Lyon is that the train connection to Geneva/Switzerland is really poor and the connection to Turin/Itlay is even worse. Things are getting better, but it will take a while until Lyon is going to become a transport hub that's important on an european level.
Living in a city with a metro area 70% as big in population as Lyon, I'm saddened that Lyon with 1.5 million residents in its metro area has a metrorail, tram, and trackless trolley network that puts Boston's to shame! And my city? Just streetcars and busses!! 😭
Thanks for covering my city! Its unique public transport network makes it one of the best cities in Europe in terms of accessibility, although some parts of the city have been neglected by the metropolitan authorities and lack major transportation hubs, causing a huge dependence on cars for those areas (particularly the western, hilly part of Lyon and suburbs).
Many projects were on the table until 2020 when a dumb Green-party mayor got elected and he cancelled one of these projects, Metro line E, that would have transported around 100,000-150,000 people per day! Instead, he is developing bike paths all around the city, causing chaos on the roads, and massive traffic jams during rush hours. He is neglecting the development of efficient transit systems for people living in the suburbs. Lyon Metropolis still lacks a RER system, consequently, suburban trains are inefficient, overcrowded and terminate way too early in the evening.
Interesting city, definitely worth visiting once the Frejus train line reopens!
Don't forget Turin, its Italian counterpart!
Unfortunately the new trams in Turin aren't fully operative yet (only a few are authorised for service), but there are many interesting projects, some of which are already financed (as a part of the second metro line and the line 12)
Lyon is not the second largest city of France, Marseille is the second
Yaaay my home town ! Thanks for this nice video !
Now that I think of it, Lyon may have helped me develop an interest in public transit. Lyon's metros are probably the best in France, with large automated trains that cover most of the important destinations in the city. I spent my whole teenage years moving around the city thanks to this robust system. It's not perfect, of course, it currently lacks funding to expand beyond the actual and future demand for transit as we reduce car dependency.
We have larger metros thanks to it's designer. He said something along the lines of "widening tunnels later is basically impossible, building a wider tunnel from the start isn't that expensive and the excess capacity will be greatly appreciated, now and in the future" and he was so right. I wish more designers had his insight.
I'd say one of its biggest problem is the lack of transit for students. Sure they put some tramway lines but they're sooooo packed it's impossible to just use a tramway line for a campus. Charpennes' weird layout makes it difficult to extend the line to the north, but it should be going to the university instead of stopping right there ! Anyone that went to University in Lyon by transit knows what I'm talking about : we need a metro for students, NOT trams ! Also, the automation of line B was pretty chaotic and the system is still not running at normal service levels. The metro hasn't worked well since they started the automation programs. I still support full automation but they really should investigate what happened.
I'm also disappointed by the cancellation of the metro E project. It was supposed to be a new east-west line through Bellecour and Part-Dieu, which has been a HUGE demand from transit users for DECADES. Bellecour and Part-Dieu are the two most important commercial hubs of Lyon, concentrating most of the city life. The lack of direct connection between has been a complaint all these years and when we finally thought it was going to happen, they canceled it, saying "it's going to take too long". DUH. If you don't build it you can't have it. Procrastinating never made stuff happen faster, so if it takes long, it's another reason to do it NOW !
I'm glad there's projects to automate everything and adding screen doors, and I hope line B will be extended to La Doua – Gaston Berger and create a metro-tram hub inside the campus.
Anyways, great video on Lyon ! Thank you for showing the cool stuff from my home town 🙂
So happy to finally see my home city in a dedicated video ! I live in the west of the city where the new tram line is currently in discussion, which is, to the eyes of many inhabitants, a total disaster, compared to Metro line E. I also found a lot of incoherence in the tram project as well as a lack of a long term vision. So I decided to write a 40 page document proving that the tram can't be a good option… which the transpory organization authority had read ! I got to meet them but just got disappointed as I was expecting, they abandoned any future for the metro system. I just hope to bring metro line E back, as the tram will not be faster than the actual buses and more congestionned
I’ve passed through the city of Lyon atleast 18 times by now, every time I try to get a glimpse of what the city might be like. I remember seeing the trams for the first time. I’ve still never really stayed there for any amount of time though
Considering you're on trams, can you cover Melbourne's tram network (Yarra Trams)? Considering it is the worlds largest network I think an explainer would be awesome.
You might want to consider just talking about a city without dragging Canada into it most of the time.
Can you pls make a video about Amsterdam tram network
So many transit vehicles and so few automobiles!
I studied civil engineering and urbanism in Lyon INSA in the mid/late 90s. I remember our transport professor telling us about the plans for the tram, and telling us the only way to reduce car traffic was to take space away from cars. It made so much sense. I think Lyon was a great place to study urbanism in the late 90s, because reinstating trams in European cities was a fairly new thing back then.
Lyon is the only city where I have been ejected from a station for using a camcorder.
I was filming the Lyon funicular from St Just as it was arriving at its downhill terminus (Vieux-Lyon station) and after it stopped at the station the driver came over to me and escorted me out of the station.
He made it quite clear (in English) that it is not allowed to use a camcorder to film the trains. I asked him about the CCTV cameras filming me without asking for my permission and it was strange but he claimed to not understand my question, yet he understood everything else I said.
Lyon trams look ugly with a design look that will date quickly.
Great video ! As a former tram driver in Lyon (while I was studying, they recruited students back in the day !), I thought it was really well explained ! You did not talked about all the rolling stocks, the oledest one are 23 years old and the latests one only less than a year
Also, Meyzieu not mayzieux😂
Nice!!! My wife are currently planning to make a move from New Orleans to Lyon in the near future…such a beautiful city.
Lyon dweller since 2008 here, who spent 5 years on that damn INSA campus 😅 What feels good about Lyon's transit is the forward energy. In the same time-frame, in my native Prague, barely anything was moving forward. I read here from people from cities which had done nothing with having dated, incomplete networks to begin with and I feel kinda lucky to have moved here 😊
I love Lyon, but have a love-hate relationship with it's RhônExpress airport tram. While yes, it's comfortable, fast and easy, it is not cheap. Per km, it's probably the most expensive tram ride you will ever take. And because it has a monopoly on transit between the city and the airport (and linked TGV station), I don't expect this to change anytime soon…
I also hope that sooner or later, ticket integration will include the regional trains and tramtrains in the Western banlieues.