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Writer's pictureCOCKPIT

The History of Public Transport in Algeria (3/10): the Bus

Coaches (intercity journeys) and buses (urban and peri-urban journeys) have always been the preferred means of transport in Algeria, they are used in tourism, staff transport, university transport, inter-wilaya and trans-Saharan passenger transport.



While the coach very quickly took a predominant place in the transport of long-distance passengers, the bus made a late appearance, leaving room for other modes of public transport, namely corricolos (horse-drawn carriages), trams and trolleybuses which appeared at the end of the 19th century.



At that time, rural transport was carried out in unbelievable conditions on board overloaded pataches, with deplorable safety standards and fares based on the customer's head. The corricolos, a popular means of urban transport, often fought over customers during very violent fights.



It was not until 1935 that the first buses appeared in the capital Algiers. They provided the Port Said - Maison Carrée shuttle, they were faster than trams. For the record, it should be noted that the first bus to appear in the capital was called the ''Cafard'', it was a very slow and asthmatic 25-seater Berliet. Buses were widespread in the capital from 1959. Charles de Gaulle, then President of the French Republic, created a subsidiary of the Berliet company in Rouiba through the Constantine Plan. This company was nationalized a few years after independence, to become Sonacome then SNVI. The bus would gradually take the place of the tram. In the same year (1959), the merger of the Algerian Tramways (TA) network with those of the CFRA gave birth to the Algiers Transport Syndicate Company (RSTA), currently the Urban and Suburban Transport Company of Algiers (ETUSA). The buses of this company have always kept the old color: blue and white.



In other major cities in the country, responsibility for public transport is assigned to cities that have adopted the same strategy where transport management is granted to operating companies whose vehicles have their own colours.



In Oran, the second city of the country, it was in 1949, following the reorganization of the network, that the city bought 40 Renault buses to replace the old tramway. In 1950 the new network started, in 1956 there were already 82 buses in circulation including 18 Chausson buses of the latest model.



After independence, the state took a monopoly on transport, nationalized companies, the bus then became for a long time the only mode of urban collective transport after the abundance of the tram and trolley. It was not until 1987 that the market reopened to the private sector, which quickly overtook the state company RSTA, which could no longer satisfy the needs of Algerians due to a lack of financial means, transport prices being symbolic and state finances in dire straits. The private sector then became a savior in this crisis situation. However, over time, hopes faded and the services of the latter were considered deplorable, where quick money-making and lack of organization were the rule.



It was not until the 2000s and the economic upturn that companies were overhauled, particularly with the creation of Etusa, replacing RSTA, subject to a new policy and strategy, which led to the modernization of its entire network of maintenance and training infrastructures thanks to an agreement with the Belgian Technical Cooperation (CTB) which ended in 2007.


However, apart from the capital Algiers where the main public operator ETUSA was preserved, local historic operators ended up disappearing in most cities in the country. The market share of private operators on regular services is 100% in urban centers such as Batna, Skikda, Tiaret, Annaba, Sétif, etc.


The current situation is certainly not optimal, but planning for the development of means of transport foresees better days for the bus which will be one of the keys to the efficiency of the public transport network.



The next article will be about the metro.

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