COMPAGNIE DES TRANSPORTS DE CHERBOURG The town service operator in the urban community of Cherbourg

For current information and timetables visit the official Zéphir Bus website

Cherbourg is a major French naval port at the northern tip of the Cotentin peninsula in the département of Manche.  It was also a port of call for the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear and nowadays is a major yachting centre and cross channel ferry terminal. 

Originally known as the Compagnie des Tramways de Cherbourg - a name retained until summer 1962 despite the destruction of the tramways during the fighting in 1944 - the Compagnie des Transports de Cherbourg (CTC) has been the town service operator in Cherbourg and the adjacent communities of Tourlaville and Équeurdreville for as long as can be remembered.  The tramway had been electrified in 1910 after earlier steam powered operation, which had commenced in 1896 after several abortive earlier attempts to introduce horse trams.  The metre gauge tramway network was 16.5 kilometres in extent at its maximum, and the tramway service was from Urville in the west through Querqueville and Équeurdreville to the centre of Cherbourg and then east to nearby Tourlaville.

Cherbourg tram in Rue Gambetta about 1915

The summer 1925 tram timetable shows a seven and a half minute frequency on the town centre part of the route with fifteen minute frequencies to Tourlaville and Équeurdreville.  Further west Querqueville was served every thirty minutes and Urville had eight services a day (increased to twenty-two departures on Sundays). During the 1930s the receipts of the tramway operation did not cover expenses and from 1935 with mounting deficits the service was placed under local government control. The trams ceased in 1944 (much damage was done in the fighting) and post-war from 1945 the replacement buses operated a single route from Tourlaville through central Cherbourg and Équeurdreville to Querqueville, following the line of the former tramway (Urville being served daily in summer but market days only in winter). It was not until 1962 that some modest extensions were made to serve housing areas off the former tram route. At the same time the name was changed from Compagnie des Tramways to Compagnie des Transports de Cherbourg.		Share certificate for Tramways de Cherbourg

The prinicipal bus routes listed in the summer 1962 edition of the timetable were:     1.   Les Flamands - Cherbourg - Les Terrasses (Équeurdreville)     2.    Tourlaville Mairie - Cherbourg - Arsenal     3.    Cherbourg - Équeurdreville - Querqueville - Urville                   (many services terminated at Querqueville)     4.    St Jean des Carrières - Cherbourg - La Bucaille

 Bus services were extended southwards to include the Octeville community as the successor to Transports Pasquier in March 1963.  The July 1963 timetable shows further route extensions to other growing residential areas (eg lines 3 and 6):

    1.   Les Flamands - Cherbourg - Équeurdreville - Urville (most services still terminated at Les Terrasses)

    2.    Tourlaville Mairie - Cherbourg - Équeurdreville - Urville (most services terminated at Les Terrasses)

    3.    Tourlaville Eglantine - Cherbourg - Querqueville - Urville (many services terminated at Querqueville)

    4.    St Jean des Carrières - Cherbourg - La Bucaille 

    5.    Cherbourg - Octeville  (ex-Pasquier, extended Thursdays for some distance to the village of Héauville) 

    6.    Amont Quentin - Cherbourg - Équeurdreville - Hameau Guéry

Additional Thursday only market services (as operated in both 1962 and in 1963)

            Cherbourg - Hameau Quévillon

            Cherbourg - Hainneville

            Cherbourg - La Minoterie de la Roche

            Cherbourg - La Chapelle des Rouges Terres

The tram depot was at 1 Rue Gambetta in the la Fonderie locality, east of Cherbourg and at the western approach to Tourlaville.  It remained in use as the CTC bus depot until 1979, when a new modern depot was constructed not far away in the industrial zone at Rue de la Chasse aux Loups.  From 1976 the Urban Community of Cherbourg took over the responsibility of the transport network, and further route extensions and service developments were introduced to better meet the needs of the local population.  

Map of bus routes as appearing in timetables in the early 1960's

A comprehensive service is operated on weekdays from morning till early evening, but only a very limited service on Sundays and holidays.  In common with many French urban bus operations, services cease at around 8 o'clock in the evening although a development in 1995 saw the introduction of limited late evening runs until midnight on the two main routes on Fridays and Saturdays only (subsidised by the Urban Community).  Additionally there are some Thursday and Saturday only market services to nearby villages (eg Le Becquet to the east and Urville to the west), with route 10 replacing in part former STN country services.  There are also summer-only buses to the beaches, a special service to the channel ferry terminal (Gare Maritime) and to the new Cité de la Mer leisure attraction, as well as workers buses to and from the naval Arsenal and also a taxi-bus linking the town centre to a housing development at Villa Rocca.

After many years trading as CTC, in 1992 the company adopted Zéphir Bus as their operating name.  In 1996 the company and the urban community jointly celebrated "100 ans de transports urbains à Cherbourg" and published a celebratory booklet.

Moving onwards to 1999, these are the services that were listed in the winter timetable:     1.    Cherbourg - Octeville - Les Fourches     2.    Cherbourg - Octeville - Fort Neuf Digard     3.    Tourlaville Eglantine - Cherbourg - Équeurdreville - Hainneville     4.     Cherbourg - La Glacerie - Centre Commercial (Auchan)     5.    Les Flamands - Cherbourg - Querqueville - Amfreville     6.    Cherbourg - Équeurdreville - Cité Dubost     7.    Cherbourg - Équeurdreville - Hainneville Haut     8.    Cherbourg - Octeville - Polyclinique     10.    Cherbourg - Tourlaville - Le Becquet (Thursday and Saturday market days)     11.    Cherbourg - Village de l'Église (Thursday and Saturday market days service)     12.    Cherbourg - Urville (Thursday market day only)      -       Cherbourg - Octeville - Les Fourches (for Sunday morning market)     A       Taxibus: Cherbourg - Villa Roca (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, two trips)
NB  Limited Sunday services operate on routes 1, 3, 4 and 5.

The company had become part of the VIA-Transexel group but by 2003 their operations were controlled by the Keolis group of transport companies.  There were 137 staff (including 100 drivers) and the fleet comprised 52 vehicles (6 articulated buses, 40 standard buses, 5 minibuses and 1 vehicle for persons with reduced mobility). The 2003 routes are similar to those listed for 1999 with the addition of another taxibus route in the southern suburbs from Centre Commercial (Auchan) through Village de l'Église (La Glacerie) to Croix Luce.  A modest network of interurban services from Cherbourg continues to be provided by Verney (Connex / Véolia) group operator STN.

By Spring 2005 service 10 had been altered to a shuttle service from Le Becquet connecting with bus 3 at Northeim for the onward journey into Cherbourg.  Similarly service 11 is now a shuttle connecting with bus 5 at Breche du Bois and bus 12 from Urville is now a taxi connecting with bus 5 at Dixmude.  Another taxibus runs twice on Monday to Friday from Centre Commercial La Glacerie to Croix de Luce and the 'Ligne Alizé' bus runs every 30/45 minutes from the town centre and rail station to the Cité de la Mer leisure complex at the Gare Maritime and the Multiplex cinema.  Additional taxi type services in autumn 2005 link the Polyclinique to Équeurdreville Mairie on Monday to Friday afternoons and a Thursday market service from Cherbourg Schuman to Vallée de Quincampoix.  These services are marketed as Itineo and only operate when pre-booked, at latest by 6pm the day before.  The once busy workers services to and from the naval arsenal and dockyard now similarly only operate on a pre-booked basis.

In 2005 Zéphir Bus operated 2 million kilometres and passengers made 5.7 million journeys.  133 staff were employed of whom 114 were drivers. The operators website can be found at www.zephirbus.com

Cover of the summer 1925 tram timetable		Cover of the winter 1962 bus timetable

The old bus depot at La Fonderie, Tourlaville, in use until 1979 - formerly the Cherbourg tram depot

	Another earlier view of the depot at Tourlaville, taken in August 1963
	A Renault bus of the CTC in 1945,  for two person operation with a receveuse. Showing destination 'Chateau' and with side boards Cherbourg - Querqueville - Nacqueville - Urville.
	The 'Declaration of Public Utility' (Déclaration d'Utilité Publique)  of July 1891 which authorised the construction of the tramways of  Cherbourg.
	The cover of the 100th anniversary commemorative booklet published on the centenary in 1996.  In September 2006 Zéphir Bus celebrated 110 years of public transport in Cherbourg.   A specially decorated bus (fleet number 816, a Heuliez) was operated in the brown livery of the erstwhile Compagnie des Tramways de Cherbourg.

	Cherbourg in the 1980's - a Berliet on Ligne 1 going towards Tourlaville-Eglantine

=====  Je remercie Martial Leroux, John Carman et Eric Steil de leur aimable assistance  =====

I would be pleased to learn more about this operator if any French readers of this page have further information !

Click here to return to main index page

Cliquez ici pour retourner à la page d'accueil pour la Normandie