Le Bus Direct" coach services between Paris and its airports have been suspended since April. This decision follows the collapse of air transport due to the covid-19 crisis.
According to its operator Keolis, the lines are unlikely to resume, in an announcement to AFP on Friday 14 August.
Formerly known as "Cars Air France", this service offered four routes between the capital and the two Paris airports. The service ran from Orly to Paris Etoile/Champs-Elysées, from CDG to Paris Gare Montparnasse and from Paris to Tour Eiffel. Finally, "Le Bus Direct" offered a non-stop service between Orly and Roissy (CDG).
These coach routes were operated without subsidy by Keolis (an SNCF subsidiary), which had signed a specific agreement with Aéroports de Paris (ADP).
Service to Orly was suspended on 1 April when the airport closed, then the one at Roissy six days later for lack of customers. "We tried to hold on as long as we could, but we had no-one left on our lines", Jérôme Dupont, Director, told AFP.
A reopening had been planned for 15 June. However, this was postponed until July due to a sharp fall in demand. The gloomy economic situation forced Keolis to take the decision to pull out. The urban transport operator is facing a serious crisis and is having to restructure its business.
More public transport in the long term
For travellers, there are always alternative lines operated by RATP and SNCF. They include several bus routes as well as the RER B line linking Orly to Roissy via Paris, as well as the RER C and a tramway line at Orly.
In the future, the airport in the south of Paris should be linked directly by the metro line 14. This line is currently being extended between Olympiades and Orly via Kremlin-Bicêtre, Villejuif and the MIN de Rungis. Entry into service is scheduled for mid-2024.
At Roissy-CDG, construction of metro line 17 between Saint Denis and the hub via Le Bourget is planned for around 2030.
