Ian Fuller2006
Niort
70km east of La Rochelle sits Niort. Slightly smaller than its coastal neighbour, Niort is a smart, well-to-do sort of place, its centre full of the sort of shops that imply a reasonably affluent population. At one end of the town centre is the large, neatly-landscaped Place Breche, with its well-tended lawns and immaculate planting. The buses of local operator TAN call at one corner of the square.
Niort is the prefecture of the Deux-Sevres departement, which is also home to the factory of French bus builder Heuliez Bus, these days owned by Iveco but proudly retaining its independent image. It's no surprise that all the full-sized buses in the TAN fleet are Heuliez products. Here at Place Breche one of the more recent ones (Heuliez GX327 no. 715, new in 2011), passes one of the older members of the fleet (GX317 no. 106, ten years its senior). TAN's buses bear two main liveries as the routes are split into two brand - the 'ChronoTAN' routes use buses in a red scheme like that carried by 106, while 715 carries the pale blue-based 'InterTAN' livery. Despite the different branding, they seem to be headed in opposite directions on route D.
Niort
70km east of La Rochelle sits Niort. Slightly smaller than its coastal neighbour, Niort is a smart, well-to-do sort of place, its centre full of the sort of shops that imply a reasonably affluent population. At one end of the town centre is the large, neatly-landscaped Place Breche, with its well-tended lawns and immaculate planting. The buses of local operator TAN call at one corner of the square.
Niort is the prefecture of the Deux-Sevres departement, which is also home to the factory of French bus builder Heuliez Bus, these days owned by Iveco but proudly retaining its independent image. It's no surprise that all the full-sized buses in the TAN fleet are Heuliez products. Here at Place Breche one of the more recent ones (Heuliez GX327 no. 715, new in 2011), passes one of the older members of the fleet (GX317 no. 106, ten years its senior). TAN's buses bear two main liveries as the routes are split into two brand - the 'ChronoTAN' routes use buses in a red scheme like that carried by 106, while 715 carries the pale blue-based 'InterTAN' livery. Despite the different branding, they seem to be headed in opposite directions on route D.