Though the lead-up to Christmas may seem like an odd time to be thinking about summer, Transports publics genevois (TPG) certainly seems to have balmy temperatures and swimming on the brain. As part of their new timetable for 2025, the public transport provider will launch the “Beach Line”, a new bus connecting the city’s swimming areas.
Alongside SBB’s new nationwide timetable for 2025, TPG will also be bringing widespread changes to the local bus and tram network in Geneva. Most of the changes will see increased services in and around the city, a bolstered night bus network and the launch of the new Beach Line.
In news that will delight those already feeling the fatigue of short days and cold nights, TPG will launch Line 29 in 2025, also known as the Beach Line. The new bus line will run alongside Lake Geneva, from the Creux-de-Genthod on the left side of the lake to Bois-Caran on the right side.
On the way, the bus will connect all the most popular bathing spots in the city, including Plage du Vengeron, Perle du Lac, Bains des Pâquis, Port Noir and Cermin du Righi among others. It is hoped that the line will be popular with swimmers and those who like to stroll along the city’s famous lakeside esplanades and take pressure off existing services.
The Beach Line will be opened to great fanfare on May 2, running on 22 weekends from the start of normal bus services until midnight. The last Beach Line bus will run on the evening of September 29.
Regarding other changes to the TPG timetable, from December 15 the vast majority of bus, tram and Léman Express services will begin their regular schedule from 5am instead of 6am. This should lead to an increase in early morning services across the city.
Following the launch of the TPG night network in December 2023, the company will be making several changes to the system. First, bus Line 22 will be extended to run between Palettes and Carouge-Rondeau, with services every 30 minutes instead of 45.
At night, Lines 46 and 48 will run on the same route they take during the day, extending the 46 to Bardonnex and the 48 to Lully and Perly. Lines 71, 72 and 74 will all start to run at night too.
When it comes to day services, TPG will be expanding the frequency of buses on several lines. On the right side of the lake, Line 51 between Geneva and CO Renard will see more buses run during peak hours, while Line 52 between Collex-Bossy, Bellevue and Genthod will run every 15 minutes during peak times.
From Monday to Friday, the latter line will also run to the French village of Versonnex. Line 71 will be extended to Meyrin, Citadelle and run every 30 minutes from Monday to Friday.
However, bus Line 56, which serves Geneva Airport ZIMEYSA and Blandonnet, will not be returning after December 15. TPG advised using Lines 57, 68 and 83 to get to destinations on the line.
On the left bank of the lake, Line 43 will see a bus every 10 minutes during peak hours and every 15 minutes during off-peak on the entire route, while Line 41 will be extended to run to Chêne-Bourg, gare-Place instead of Place Favre from February 3, 2025.
Finally, in two housekeeping measures, Line K will become known as Line 40, and Line I will become Line 42. At some point in 2025, electric buses will also be put into operation on Line 5.
TPG wrote in a statement that through their changes, they were expanding their offering so that more leisure travellers and night owls would be able to cross the city with ease. For more information about the timetable changes, check out the TPG website.