It’s been an excellent stay, and I never wanted to leave for a minute.

There will be a longer, more reflective post after I get back in the UK. For now though, I’ll show you this video which was a campaign song for Opposition group in Nice Changer d’ère.

It’s not goodbye, it’s Au Revoir.

I’ll be in the UK from this evening until January 22nd.

Next stop: Madrid.

This is unprecedented, despite other grandes villes like Paris and Marseilles already having a stable Vélo system in place.

What it really shows is the rapid increase of delinquency and anti-social behaviour in the city.

The security problems don’t lie with the Vélo company, Veloway, the affiliate of Veolia, but are really a consequence of the bad choices the Mayor Christian Estrosi has made since 2008.

Stop him, he’s getting away! (Estrosi)

For ideological reasons, Estrosi has constantly refused to increase the numbers of local policemen out on the streets to keep order in the city.

Instead, he persists to funnel investment into video surveillance and the over-equipment of existing police officers, such as his project to give them all tasers to play with.

Patrick Allemand, leader of the Opposition in the Conseil Municipal (Town Hall), said (in French):

The citizens of Nice do not need a « Robocop » but a human presence which dissuades crime and reassures citizens.

Furthermore, I have not seen one person wearing a helmet while riding these bikes. Not in the street, not in the adverts, not even Estrosi… though that might be a good thing!

The aim was fairly simple; I wanted to buy a month-pass for the Tram, so that I could easily get around the city wherever and whenever my job needs me.

Entering, I head to reception and say “I want to by a month-pass.” Immediately, the receptionist told me to head to the ticket booths. No problem there.

The ensuing exchange was very Monty Pythonesque; with me going back and forth with various different bits of paper. Eventually I was given a piece of paper that informed me of all the other pieces of paper I had to find. Rather like a treasure map I suppose.

A week later, I returned with my application form, my passport, a photocopy of said passport, my housing contract, a photocopy of that, a bank identity slip, and my debit card. I got my pass in the end.

That’s my best example of la bureaucratie. In fact, obtaining a bank account was much simpler, as the procedure was simply “sign this, and this and this and this and…”

However, the classic example is the CAF, which is literally Free Money for all those who can navigate the paper labyrinth. If you say “bureaucracy” to a French person, there response will be “Have you heard of CAF?”

I’ve thought about it for a little while, but I can’t really come up with any explanation as to why such a system exists. There are plenty of made-up jobs around, of course, but it doesn’t combat unemployment, a chronic problem in France.

Still, it’s better than my experience with the Bath Students’ Union.

First, the company that currently enjoys a monopoly on buses in Bath has been under constant and severe criticism regarding the 18 and 418 services. The cancellation of the 20A and 20C buses from Combe Down, a student housing hotspot, taking effect at the insensitive time of May 10, during the examination period, evidently forced the Union’s hand to take drastic action.

Working with Bath & North-East Somerset Council, Bath Students’ Union has been negotiating with Wessex Connect, a company that has experience dealing with students at the University of West England, Bristol, to run services in addition to those operated by First:

Proposals have also been drawn up by Wessex Connect to provide a service from the University of Bath campus through to the Lower Oldfield Park loop (to be called the U18) from 06:55 until 20:30, Monday to Friday. This service will run approximately once every 10 minutes and will be supplemented by a slightly less frequent weekend service (similar to First). The service will be student focused with a pricing strategy to match.

Alex Nicholson-Evans, Bath Students’ Union President, commented:

Students just aren’t satisfied with the service they are receiving at the high prices they are currently being charged. I hope that the introduction of some healthy competition in the form of Wessex Connect’s service, alongside the current routes provided by First, will finally see the campus and Lower Oldfield Park being adequately served.

It is a testament to the success of Alex’s presidency that she has followed up her manifesto commitment to look at a different bus service, as opposed to the improvement of the existing one. Friends and colleagues tell me that this year the 418 service is a great deal better than it was in previous years, due in no small part to Alex’s negotiations.

On the Union Website, Alex also commented that “B&NES are working on this issue but at the moment, First bus passes will only be valid on First buses.” so it is yet to be seen how students will react to having their passes rendered almost useless. It may effect the popularity of the new service in general as I would imagine that students with First passes will continue to use them.

First can probably expect to see a sales dip in September when the new academic year starts as students decide to switch providers. Conversely, students may decide to adopt a “devil you know” approach and stay with First, driving Wessex away due to a lack of profitability. Possibly, student living off campus for the first time (I.e. first years becoming second years) may use the new service, having heard about First’s inadiquacies, while older students in the third and fourth year stick with the familiar.

Competition is the key word. It is hoped that as Wessex Connect encroaches on the student client base, First will somehow suddenly get its act together and strive to keep its customers. The services will depend on how students behave, which will require a co-ordinated and effective campaign on the part of the SU. If students stick with First, Wessex Connect will find Bath an unprofitable and unpenatrable market, and leave. If Wessex Connect is successful, First could easily pull the plug all together, leaving Wessex overstretched as First is now.

In any case, the introduction of a new service is certainly a welcome development for students because it changes the playing field on which the Students’ Union can argue. It shows that students cannot be taken for granted and put ths SU in a much stronger position. Hopefully, the cycle of the past few years of discussion will be broken.

Prices increase annually to tie in with inflation and rising fuel prices. From September 1st 2008, a single ticket from the bus station to campus on board the number 18 will increase from £1 to £1.10 and a single from Oldfield Park to campus on board the 418 costs £1.95.

In addition to standard tickets, bus passes and journey cards are increasing as follows:

• 10 Journey – from £8 to £8.50 
• 1 Week – from £10.50 to £11.30 
• 5 Week – from £48 to £51.50 
• 8 Week – from £66 to £71 
• Term/13 Week – from £82 to £88.50 
• 36 Week – from £231 to £249 
• 52 Week – from £299 to £320

There will also be a service change. The 10 journey pass, the most popular among Bath students, can no longer be used on the 418 as they are not valid any further than the large Sainsbury’s store.

Many students have already declared their intention to walk from Oldfield Park to the city centre before boarding the number 18 bus. Several students are even planning to avoid the buses entirely and hope to walk up Bathwick Hill.

First, the company who runs the buses, were not available for comment. Impact called First’s customer services phone line was busy for several hours. If you would like to register your opinion with the company, you should call 0845 606 4446 or write to First, Oldmixon Crescent, Weston-Super-Mare, BS24 9AY.