TCL Strikes Again!

Only this time was the worst strike I've ever seen.

From last week the TCL had posted posters in the bus sheds near bus stops (see photo). For strike-weary me, I had just thought it would be another minor inconvenience, but it was actually really terrible.

Buses were running at 20% capacity and in some cases only 1 out of 10 buses were circulating. One metro line (B) was completely
closed down and one tramway (T1) was not running at all.

All this to coincide (no accident!) with the opening of the T3 tramway line, nicknamed "Lea" extending from the backside of Gare Part Dieu train station.

This time, a number of unions collaborated on the strike to push for higher pay, and I think they've gotten their point across. But it was really unpleasant for them to have done it today, on a Monday. Believe me!

I got a ride both going coming and going (very nice French classmates) and so made it back safely to my apartment without trouble.


To the right: an actual screen capture taken of the tcl.fr home page listing the number of buses and trams running. It's terrible: check the #3 or #55 which passes by my school. Look also at the numbers for the Metro B and the Tram T1: zero!

Fortunately, the driverless Metro D (controlled by computer? I'm not sure how they do it) was running at 100%. Without it life would've been really miserable.