The RGTR bus network will see its number of lines fall from 234 to 157 (excluding school lines) in future Mike Zenari/archives

The RGTR bus network will see its number of lines fall from 234 to 157 (excluding school lines) in future Mike Zenari/archives

Following a nationwide consultation, the mobility ministry announced on Wednesday an overhaul was underway with proposed changes being sent to communes for comment in the coming weeks.

Besides a reorganisation of the way towns and communes are served by public buses, the line numbers will also be amended to make it clearer to the public which regions are served, green mobility minister François Bausch explained.

“This reorganisation is about the development of our country and the specific needs that result from it. Starting with the express lines which, together with the rail network, constitute the main pillars of the new network. In addition, the requirements of rural areas will be taken into account by setting up an on-demand service,” Bausch said.

The line numbering will be organised so that the first number of the bus will indicate the region it services (1-9), the second number will reflect the type of service it operates, be it express (0), primary regional line (1), secondary regional (2), a line that does not pass through the capital (5), or a rural regional service (3, 4, 6, 7, 8, or 9).

Bausch said that the final network would be better organised, easier to read and use, with a more reliable, logical and regular timetable.

Services on priority lines would, meanwhile, be extended until 11pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and there would be better strategic planning of bus stops.

Communes have six weeks to send their comments to the mobility ministry. The network will then be finalised and presented to the public in early 2020. The changes will come into effect from May 2020 to September 2021.