Public transport in Lyon

Overview

Lyon's public transport network is branded TCL — Transports en Commun Lyonnais (Lyon public transport) — and it is widely regarded as one of the most efficient systems in France. It is operated under the TCL brand by Keolis Lyon (formerly the SLTC, the Société lyonnaise de transports en commun) on behalf of SYTRAL Mobilités, the syndicate that oversees transport for the Rhône department and the Lyon metropolitan area. From 1 January 2025, operation of the metro passes to RATP Dev.

For a visitor, the system is refreshingly simple to use end to end. Central areas are very well served, as are the campuses and the eastern suburbs where many jobs are concentrated; the western suburbs are more residential and can be harder to reach. The network is divided into six fare zones (1–5 plus an external zone), but zones 1 and 2 cover the central areas and include the entire metro, so most visitors never need to think about zones at all.

By far the easiest way to travel is to tap on with any contactless bank card (Visa, Mastercard, CB), including Google Pay and Apple Pay. As of 2026, you are charged approximately €2.10 per one-hour journey, capped at roughly €6.30 per day, and journeys include unlimited transfers between all modes of transport. If contactless banking is not an option, you can buy a rechargeable card for about €0.20 at any TCL vending machine or agency (agence TCL) and load it with single tickets or multi-day passes. As everywhere in France, the network can be disrupted by strikes from time to time, so it is worth checking ahead on travel days.

The network

The TCL network is made up of several distinct systems, each with its own lines and local names. Note that Lyon's metro trains run on the left, unlike most other French metro systems — a legacy of an unrealised project to run the metro into the suburbs on existing railway lines.

Metro (Métro de Lyon)

The Lyon Metro (Métro de Lyon, [metʁo d(ə) ljɔ̃]) opened in 1974 and today consists of four lines — A, B, C and D — serving 42 stations over 34.4 kilometres (21.4 mi). Each line is identified on maps by its own colour, and the trains use rubber-tyred cars. In 2025, daily average ridership on the metro was 810,000.

• Line A — runs from Perrache to Laurent Bonnevay–Astroballe, extended to Vaulx-en-Velin–La Soie in October 2007. It uses rubber tyres and a third rail.
• Line B — runs from Charpennes to Part-Dieu, extended over the years to Jean Macé (1981), Stade de Gerland (2000) and Gare d'Oullins (2013), with two further stations, Oullins Centre and Saint-Genis-Laval–Hôpital Lyon Sud, opening on 20 October 2023. Since 2022 it has been automated, running new MPL 16 rolling stock ordered from Alstom in 2016.
• Line C — the former Croix-Rousse–Croix-Paquet rack railway, refurbished in 1974 and integrated into the metro in 1978, running from Hôtel de Ville–Louis Pradel to Croix-Rousse and extended to Cuire in 1984. It uses overhead wires and steel wheels, making it the only steel-wheeled metro line in France outside Paris. The Croix Paquet station claims to be the steepest metro station in Europe, with an incline of 17%.
• Line D — the first fully automatic metro line in France, opened with staff on board in 1991 between Gorge de Loup and Grange Blanche, extended to Gare de Vénissieux in 1992 (when it switched to driverless operation) and to Gare de Vaise in 1997. It is the deepest and longest line in Lyon at 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) with 15 stations, passing under both the Rhône and the Saône. Trains are controlled by the MAGGALY system and, unusually for a driverless metro, there are no platform screen doors — infrared sensors detect obstructions on the track.

A proposed Line E to link the western suburbs to the centre was cancelled in 2022 in favour of new express tramways, partly underground.

Funiculars (Funiculaires)

Two funicular railways, F1 and F2, support the network. They climb Fourvière hill and are reached from the Saint-Jean station in Old Lyon; a funicular ticket is valid for a same-day round trip on both the Fourvière and Saint-Just funiculars.

Tramway (Tramway de Lyon)

The tram network complements the metro, with lines numbered T1 through T7 (sources vary between six and seven lines depending on the date of the information). Trams run frequently — roughly every 5 to 10 minutes on the main lines — with last services late in the evening.

Buses (Bus)

Buses fill in the rest of the city, with 26 high-frequency lines numbered C1 to C26 plus more than 50 regular bus lines (some sources count over 100 routes in total). The high-frequency "C" lines are the ones to look for when you want a turn-up-and-go service.

River shuttles (Vaporetto)

A river boat shuttle, often called the vaporetto, is operated by the Confluence shopping centre along the Saône between Vieux-Lyon and Confluence. It serves four stops: Confluence (14 quai Antoine Riboud, 69002), Bellecour (11 quai des Célestins, 69002), Saint-Paul (16 quai de Bondy, 69005) and Vaise (9 quai Arloing, 69009). It runs daily from 1:30pm to 6:50pm, with a departure roughly every 1 hour 20 minutes and a journey of under 30 minutes. A single ticket costs about €5 (bought on board), €3 for children aged 5–12, and is free for under-fives. A separate private Water Taxi Lyon service also runs from the Confluence marina along the Saône and Rhône, from about €25 per person per hour.

Tickets & fares

Fares below are approximate, drawn from recent sources, and change over time — always check current prices with TCL before you travel.

• Contactless tap-to-ride: tap on with any contactless bank card (Visa, Mastercard, CB) or Google/Apple Pay. As of 2026, roughly €2.10 per one-hour journey, capped at about €6.30 per day, with unlimited transfers between all modes.
• Single ticket: around €2, valid on all trams, buses, cable cars and the metro, and valid for one hour with unlimited transfers within that hour. You must validate it each time you board a new bus or tram.
• Booklet of 10 (carnet): about €19–€19.50, and it can be used by groups. A discounted pack of 10 for under-26s and students aged 26–27 costs around €16.30.
• Ticket 2 heures: about €3.60 for unlimited travel over two hours.
• Ticket liberté soirée: about €3.60 for unlimited travel from 7pm to the end of service.
• Ticket liberté 1 jour: about €6.70 for unlimited travel from the start to the end of service (not a rolling 24 hours).
• Long-duration tickets (2–72 hours): roughly €3.50–€17, with 24/48/72-hour tickets starting from about €6.50.
• One-day family ticket (2–5 people): about €6.50; a pack of 10 family tickets for families with at least three children under 18 costs around €14.10.
• 7-day pass: about €22.
• Funicular ticket: about €3.50 for a same-day round trip on the Fourvière and Saint-Just funiculars.
• Single tickets bought from bus drivers: about €2.30 — more expensive and discouraged.

You can buy tickets from vending machines at all metro and tram stations and major bus stops; the machines accept contactless credit and debit cards and offer multiple languages including English. Paper maps are available at TCL agencies at Part-Dieu train station and Place Bellecour, and the TCL mobile app (iPhone/Android) includes an interactive map and journey planner. On board buses and trams you can pay for a single trip via Apple Pay or contactless card. A rechargeable card costs about €0.20 and can then be loaded with single tickets or 24/48/72-hour tickets.

If you hold a Lyon City Card, public transport is free, and 3-day card holders can rent a Vélo'v bike for three days for €5.

From the airport

Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS, formerly Lyon–Satolas) lies about 25 km east of the city in Colombier-Saugnieu. Several public-transport options connect it to the centre.

• Rhônexpress: a light-rail/tram-style link to the city centre, and the fastest and most reliable public-transport option, with a journey of under 30 minutes. It connects at Lyon Part-Dieu station, with two intermediate stops including Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie, where you can connect to metro Line A — convenient if you are staying in Presqu'île or Villeurbanne. Trains run between 04:25 and 00:00, departing every 15 minutes (06:00–21:00) to 30 minutes, every day of the year, and offer power sockets and free WiFi. Tickets are expensive: roughly €17.10 single / €29.80 return for adults, €10.50 / €19.90 for youths aged 12–25, with small discounts for buying online in advance and a €4 surcharge for buying on board. Tickets are free for under-12s and for passengers connecting to a TGV service at the airport. To find the station, follow the red signs in the terminals — you walk through the TGV station, which can take up to 10 minutes from Terminal 3, then leave the terminal building and take the escalator down to the platform.
• Local buses: the airport sits in ticketing zone 2. Bus 47 runs half-hourly (06:30–22:00) to Meyzieu Z.I., where you can pick up tram line 3 to the centre, and bus C200 runs to the eastern end of metro Line A. These cost roughly €2.10 per person — far cheaper than the Rhônexpress.
• Taxi: taxis wait outside Terminal 1 (follow the signs) and cost around €40–€50 depending on destination. For a group of four this can be competitive; ask to be dropped at an eastern metro station such as Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie or Mermoz-Pinel to save money.

Other regional airports can also serve Lyon: Grenoble airport (GNB) lies roughly midway between Lyon and Grenoble and has bus services to Lyon; Geneva (GVA) is reachable by two daily BlaBlaCar buses (12:00 and 19:15) arriving at Perrache bus station in about two hours, or by train via Geneva station and a TER regional train to Part-Dieu in about 2.5 hours; and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) has direct TGV trains to Part-Dieu running roughly hourly.

Etiquette & customs

• Validate your ticket: tickets must be validated at each use — validate on entering the metro and again when boarding a bus or tram. This is the single most important local habit to get right.
• Queuing: as in the rest of France, queue calmly and let passengers off before boarding.
• Escalators: stand on the right and leave the left side clear for people walking, the standard convention across France.
• Priority and quiet seating: priority seats are reserved for the elderly, pregnant passengers and those with reduced mobility; keep noise down and use headphones for audio.
• Eating and drinking: keep food and drink consumption minimal and tidy on board, and avoid strong-smelling food at busy times.
• Rush hour: the metro is busiest at peak commuting times — move down the carriage, keep bags off seats and let others through.
• Accessibility: every metro station has an elevator between floors and wider gates for wheelchairs; tram stations are at ground level and buses have driver-lowered ramps for wheelchair access.
• Crossing the road: be careful at major axes — traffic is dense and running red lights is, unfortunately, a popular local sport.

Official links

• TCL – official website (French)

Survival terms

• subway/metro — métro (may-TROH)
• ticket — ticket (tee-KEH)
• line — ligne (LEEN-yuh)
• entrance — entrée (ahn-TRAY)
• exit — sortie (sor-TEE)
• transfer — correspondance (kor-es-pon-DAHNSS)
• single fare — ticket à l'unité (tee-KEH ah lew-nee-TAY)
• day pass — ticket liberté 1 jour (tee-KEH lee-bair-TAY uhn zhoor)

Before you travel, download the TCL app and check the day's service status, since strikes and engineering works can occasionally disrupt even this famously efficient network.