By Patrick Decloitre of RNZ Pacific
The Greater Nouméa bus network service will be maintained on New Caledonia’s provincial election day, Sunday June 28, bus operator Tanéo/Mixed Syndicate of Urban Transports (SMTU) has confirmed.
The announcement follows complaints by several political parties in the French Pacific territory, with less than two weeks to go before the crucial provincial elections.
The greater Nouméa bus network was severely impacted following the May 2024 violent unrest, which affected Nouméa and its immediate suburbs.
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It has since resumed a limited service only from Mondays to Saturdays — but no longer on Sundays.
The new price of tickets (about US$4.8 for a single one-way fare) and the reduced number of stops has also come under heavy criticism.
Meanwhile, in a recent decision directly related to the provincial elections in the south of New Caledonia’s main island (including Nouméa), it was decided that the former 56 polling stations in the area have now been merged into 9 voting centres.
One of New Caledonia’s prominent pro-independence parties, the Union Calédonienne (UC), has recently challenged the polling stations re-jig in court, arguing that the merger of polling stations effectively penalises Indigenous Kanak and low income families who could not afford taxis or their own private vehicles.
No Sunday services
It also observed that the public bus service no longer operates on Sundays.
The situation forced some voters to walk several kilometres to reach the nearest polling station.
A similar network of merged polling stations was implemented during the municipal elections in March 2026.
However, Nouméa’s administrative tribunal dismissed the case on June 12.
In a media release on Thursday, Tanéo clarified that on an “exceptional” basis, their buses will operate on the Nouméa and Greater Nouméa network from 8am to 6pm at a pace of about one bus per hour on election day.
It said this was a similar service to the one usually practised on Saturdays for Nouméa and its suburban communes of Païta, Mont-Dore and Dumbéa.
The Nouméa and Greater Nouméa Area make up for more than 65 percent of New Caledonia’s total population of 265,000 people.
Advance tickets needed
But Tanéo said that passengers would have to buy their tickets in advance or recharge their bus passes because “no ticket will be sold onboard”.
Passengers who have already subscribed to a valid pass can also use it on election day.
Tanéo/SMTU said its decision to restore a minimum service on election day would be implemented at its own cost, estimated at around US$55,000.
Earlier this month, the company also announced the introduction of new subscriptions (including a monthly pass at US$57.64 or US$145 quarterly).
Reacting to the announcement which is being perceived as a significant gamechanger, Union Calédonienne said on social networks that it was “an important step forward”.
“It brings us closer to two fundamental principles in any democracy: voters’ equality in front of the suffrage and the sincerity of the vote, regardless of voters’ social condition, their commune of residence or their transportation constraints.”
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