Parisians will soon be able to take a boat to work, while visitors can navigate their way through the city by cruising along the Seine River. Public transportation will soon expand to a fluvial level with a new public transit water system planned to be launched in Paris during the summer of 2013.
The Voguéo water shuttle, managed by the Transportation Union of Ile-de-France, known as the (Syndicat des Transports d’Ile-de-France), is creating three water lines facilitating access to and from the southeast and northwest suburbs of Paris and the city center.
From June 2008 until June 2011, the STIF launched a test run of the water shuttles through Paris, and have since decided to move forward with the project due to an initial success. The boats, which will be part of the Paris metro system, will run every 15 to 20 minutes daily, accommodating 100 people per vehicle on lines 1 and 3, and 250 people on line 2.
Thirty different stops are planned along the banks of the Seine, each of which will be equipped with the schedule of upcoming arrivals, prices, and route maps including bus and metro transfers. During the summer, the boats will accommodate bike access and storage.
Fares may be included in the price of a Navigo transit pass (for weekly, monthly or yearly metro passes) and one-way tickets will cost at 7 euros each.
The three planned routes as shown above are the following:
Line 1: Southeast Route
Route: École Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Écluse du Port à l’Anglais de Vitry-sur-Seine – Invalides
Stops include: Gare de Lyon, St-Michel-Notre-Dame, Musée d’Orsay
Operating hours: 7am – 9pm
Line 2: Center City Route
Route: Tour Eiffel Bir Hakeim – Gare de Austerlitz
Stops include: Louvre, Hotel de Ville
Operating hours: 7am – 11pm
Line 3: Northwest route
Route: Point de Suresnes Longchamp – Musée d’Orsay
Stops include: Bois de Bologne, Issy Val de Seine, Tour Eiffel
Operating hours: 7am – 9pm
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