Noumea, New Caledonia

The South Pacific French Territory of New Caledonia lies roughly 2000 Klms off the east coast of Australia and just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. The capital of the territory, Noumea, operates a fairly resonable bus serivice around the city using a fleet of both fully Automatic and Manual transmission Renault & MAN midi buses. Vehicles do not carry any fleet numbers, however each vehicle displays the operators accreditation number just below the windscreen.

Operated by the City of Noumea, Transport En Commun Urbain de Noumea also known as GIE Karuia Bus, operates a number of coloured lines which are routed through the City Centre. The lines replaced former system of numbered routes in March 2001, although the Coloured routes do still carry a route number. The six lines are Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange & Magenta. The system is easy to use, understand and has frequent services even after 9pm and on week-ends. System maps are easily available from most Hotels and Tourism Offices in the City Centre or in the Anse Vata tourist district. For the tourist the network can take you to most of the sights around the Greater Noumea area. There are also country buses for going further up the island and depart from a derelict bus station just south of city centre area. There are no railways even for freight traffic on the island.

The bus operator however does not appear to have a web site. This is the only online resource that the author has been able to find about the service. If any readers can find an official operator web page, please contact the author via the feedback form.

Photo Gallery

An MAN passes the Noumea Parkroyal in the Anse Vata district. 02/09/2001	An MAN on the Yellow line in the Noumea City Centre. 03/09/2001	A Renault lays over in the City Centre around midday. Yes it is parked on a painted traffic island. 03/09/2001
The same Renault vehicle above has just arrived at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre on the Blue line. 04/09/2001	Departing from the main City Centre Bus Stop this Renault is on the Blue line bound for Magenta & the Tjibaou Cultural Centre. 03/09/2001	This Renault is about to pick-up and depart the Tjibaou Cultural Centre and head back to the City Centre. 04/09/2001

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