Pastel Bus (CASQ)

Description

The Pastel Bus is the Saint-Quentin urban transport network. Financed and organised by the Communauté d'Agglomération du Saint-Quentinois (CASQ - Saint-Quentin urban community), it is operated by Saint-Quentin Mobilité, a subsidiary of TRANSDEV. In service since 2005, the Pastel network has six bus lines serving a population of more than 66,000 inhabitants over 46 km².

Pastel Chrono Bus: high service level buses

The Pastel bus network is organised around a backbone line: the Chrono 1 line. This line runs between the "Colard Noël" and "Faubourg d'Isle" stops. In particular, it serves the Saint-Quentin train station and various schools: Colard Noël, Montaigne and Condorcet. The Chrono line has been equipped and improved in accordance with the "Bus Buzz" concept. Its vehicles thus offer improved interior fittings and free WIFI access. They also run more frequently than the other buses, every 12 minutes between around 6.30 a.m. and 7.15 p.m

The other bus lines of the CASQ network

The Chrono 1 line is supplemented by five other lines:

- Line 2 runs south of Saint-Quentin between the Harly and Gauchy shopping centres. It also serves the Saint-Quentin train station, the Saint-Quentin town centre and several schools: Henri Martin, Saint-Jean and Jean Moulin.
- Line 3 runs north east of Saint-Quentin between the SNCF train station and the Salicamp shopping centre. It also runs past the administrative centre, the Saint Claude private hospital and the Lycée Colard Noël.
- Line 4 runs through Saint-Quentin from east to west from the "Libération" station to the Fayet shopping centre. In particular, it serves Saint-Quentin's sports facilities: the Jean Bouin swimming pool, the Pierre Ratte sports centre and the urban leisure centre (BUL).
- Line 5 runs from the Neuville district, in the south west, to the Fayet shopping centre in the north west. It runs past the collège Marthe Lefèvre, the train station, the hospice Cordier and the hospital.
- Line 6 runs between the Gauchy and Fayet shopping centres to the south. In Saint-Quentin, it stops in the town centre, at the Henri Martin and Saint-Jean lycées or at the ZAC du bois de la Choque.

The service is provided on a daily basis. On weekdays, buses run every 20 minutes, between about 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Bus Pastel: a customizable service

In addition to its regular services, the Pastel network meets the specific needs of three categories of passengers:

Users needing an end-to-end service;
Those who are travelling for professional reasons;
Users wanting to travel in the conurbation.

To limit the number of kilometres without reducing the solutions offered, Pastel buses only run to the stations at the end of the line at the request of passengers, who have access to dedicated call buttons. Workers can take advantage of urban transport outside the network's opening hours. Indeed, Pastel provides them with a booking service via a toll-free number. A similar service is also available for users wanting to travel within the conurbation. Finally, the Pastel offer also includes the rental of ordinary and electric bicycles.

The flexible Pastel network therefore combines regular supply and supply on demand. The comprehensive network criss-crosses the town of Saint-Quentin and also runs to the other municipalities in the CASQ.