Buses to and from St Etienne Airport (EBU)

Saint-Etienne Airport is one of the smaller airports found in eastern central France, and it mainly serves the city of Saint-Etienne, Andrézieux-Bouthéon (the area in which it lies) and other towns in the Loire department of the country. The airport has flights managed by Ryanair, Luxair and Pegasus Airlines, to a few destinations, and is considered as a low-cost airport. Since that it is so close to Lyon, it is an ideal arrival point other than the Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport. Saint-Etienne Airport buses are available, and for a small airport, the bus services are quite comprehensive. There are regular airport shuttles, buses which are operated by the airline companies of the airport, as well as coach services to further destinations.

Saint-Etienne Airport is also referred to as the Saint-Etienne-Bouthéon Airport, and has the official code of EBU. It consists of a single terminal building, with a capacity to handle up to 350,000 passengers per annum. Various facilities are available within the building for both arriving and departing passengers, and in general, all facilities are easy to find and easily accessible to all passengers. Public transport options are available nearby. Taxis leave from outside the terminal building, and the Saint-Etienne Airport buses are available from the traffic circle/roundabout nearby. Although there are a few types of buses which take passengers to and from the airport, they only operate at certain times of the day, and on certain days of the week, because there are not that many flights to and from Saint-Etienne. However, passengers should find the bus services convenient. The following information is currently relevant for passengers who would like to take public transport from or to Saint-Etienne Airport.

The Saint-Etienne Airport shuttle

The airport shuttle is available on Sundays and Wednesdays, and they take arriving passengers to the Châteaucreux station in the city of Saint-Etienne. This is the main railway station of the city, from where regular rail connections can be made to Lyon or Clermont-Ferrand. The train services of the country are excellent, and there are high-speed TGV services which travel between all the larger cities of France. At the train station, passengers can also easily connect to the public transport services of the city, which include buses and the notable tramway system which has been kept throughout the 20th century. The trolleybus system of Saint-Etienne is only one of three such systems currently operating in France.

The buses of the city are operated by the company Coaches TIL, and provide transport to all areas in the Loire department. Similar to buses in other areas of France, their fares are the same price (2 Euro) for any destination, regardless of the distance. Children up to four years of age travel for free, and discounted rates may be offered for certain individuals. Persons travelling more regularly on the city buses can purchase tickets in booklets of ten, and save a few Euro.

On Sundays, the airport shuttle departs from the airport at 16:30, and will arrive at Châteaucreux station at 17:00. The journey is therefore approximately half an hour. Departing passengers can take the bus from the station at 14:00, and arrive at the airport at 14:30. On a Wednesday, the bus departs from the airport at 13:45, and arrives in Saint-Etienne at 14:15, and passengers can travel to the airport from the station at 11:00, and arrive at the airport at 11:30. Children under two years of age can travel for free, otherwise, a single ticket will cost 7.50 Euros, and a round trip ticket will cost 10.00 Euros.

There may also be an hourly bus which passes the airport’s traffic circle nearby the terminal, which takes passengers to the Place Chavanelle in Saint-Etienne. The Place Chavanelle is nearby the Centre Ville of the city and the Jardin des Plantes.

The Ryanair Saint-Etienne Airport buses

These shuttles are only for passengers on flights operated by Ryanair (those with a Ryanair airline ticket), and are available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The bus leaves the airport at 13:30 on Tuesdays, and takes passengers to the Châteaucreux station. On Tuesdays passengers can travel on the Ryanair shuttles from Saint-Etienne station at 14:00. These times are applicable for Thursdays as well. On Saturdays, the Ryanair buses leave the airport at 18:00, arriving in Saint-Etienne at 18:30, and from the city, leave for the airport at 15:10. Single trip tickets will cost 8.00 Euros, and can be purchased from the bus driver or at the airport information desk.

The Pegasus Saint-Etienne Airport buses

The buses operated by Pegasus Airlines travel to the Lyon Perrache Station and to Saint-Etienne, and are only available for Pegasus passengers. The shuttles leave from Lyon at 10:30, and arrive at the airport at approximately 12:00. Buses from the airport travel at 13:35, and arrive in Lyon at 15:35. The journey is therefore about two hours in duration. A single fare will cost 16.00 Euro, and a round trip ticket will cost 27.00 Euro. Tickets for travelling to the Châteaucreux station are priced the same as for the Ryanair shuttles, and may also be purchased from the airport information desk or from the bus driver. They leave the airport at 13:35, and depart from Saint-Etienne at 11:30.

The Saint-Etienne coach services

By coach, passengers of the airport can travel to Montbrison, a town to the north-west of Andrézieux-Bouthéon, and to Saint-Symphorien sur Coise, a town to the north-east of the airport. Line number 111 travels to Montbrison and Line number 103 travels to Saint-Symphorien sur Coise. Both buses depart from the traffic circle of the airport. Further details are available from Groupement Cars Planche/Rochette (Montbrison) at 04 77 58 27 33, and from Balbocars (Saint-Symphorien sur Coise) at 04 77 27 01 71.

Passengers can make further enquiries regarding the Saint-Etienne Airport buses from the airport information desk or their airline company, and will find information for the city buses and the airport coaches at http://www.loire.fr.