Does my pass cover the airport?

No. The airport shuttle costs €9 a trip on top of any subscription. It runs every 15 minutes from Matabiau, Jeanne d'Arc, and Palais des Congrès, and takes 25 to 45 minutes. The T2 tram no longer serves the airport during the works on the new airport line.

How late do the metro and trams run?

The metro runs from around 5.15am to midnight from Sunday to Wednesday, and until 3am on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Trams T1 and T2 stop at 0.30am, or 1am at the weekend. Some Linéo and night buses run later, and on-demand lines 119 and 120 cover the quieter areas: check the Tisséo app for times.

Do I need to validate my card on every trip?

Yes. Tap your Pastel card on every boarding, including connections, even with an unlimited subscription. Inspections are frequent, and an unvalidated card counts as travelling without a ticket.

Can I get help buying a bike?

Yes, if your main address is in Toulouse Métropole. The prime vélo covers 40% of the pre-tax price of a new or second-hand bike, capped by bike type and income, up to €1,000 for an electric cargo bike. Applications go through demarches.toulouse-metropole.fr.

Do I need a car in Toulouse?

Almost certainly not. The centre is compact, parking is expensive, and the network reaches every campus. For the occasional trip that does need a car, Citiz and Iodines rent by the hour with fuel, insurance, and parking included, and for weekend trips out of the city, see Travel .

Survival Guide

Transport

Toulouse is small enough to cross in half an hour and well served enough that almost nobody here needs a car. Sort out one card in your first week and you have the metro, the trams, the buses, and the city bikes covered.

Getting around, in numbers

Tisséo and vélôToulouse fares in force since 1 July 2026. The grid is revised every summer, so check tisseo.fr before you buy. Sorting your pass matters most once you know where you'll live, see Accommodation if you haven't yet.

€0Per month, unlimited network travel under 26

€1.90A single ticket, or €16 for a book of ten

0vélôToulouse stations, 3,700 bikes, half of them electric

3amLast metro on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights

Sorting out your Pastel card

Order the card

The Pastel card is the single travel card for the whole Tisséo network. It costs €10 and needs a passport photo plus an ID document. Order it on eboutique.tisseo.fr, or go to an agency: Aéroport, Arènes, Basso-Cambo, Borderouge, Jean-Jaurès, or Marengo SNCF. Arènes and Jean-Jaurès are by appointment only.

What a trip costs

Now and then€1.90 for a single ticket, €16 for a book of ten, €7.20 for a full day, €14.30 for three days. Worth it only if you travel a couple of times a week.

Under 26€16 a month, or €169.60 for the year, with a student card or an enrolment certificate. It pays for itself in roughly ten journeys.

On a scholarship€12.80 a month or €135.70 a year on a Crous grant, and free travel across the whole network at échelon 7. Bring your notification de bourse.

Beyond the metro

vélôToulouseThe city bike share: 3,700 bikes at 448 stations, half of them electric. €26 a year for the mechanical bikes, €124.80 for the electric ones, with the first 30 minutes of every trip included.

Your own bikeLa Maison du Vélo rents by the day, month, or year at rates aimed at students, and runs a workshop where you repair your own bike with help on hand. Cycles-Re sells refurbished second-hand bikes.

Prime véloToulouse Métropole refunds 40% of the pre-tax price of a bike bought, rented, or converted, new or second-hand, up to €1,000 for an electric cargo bike. You need a main address in one of the 37 metropolitan communes and a reference income under €35,052 per share.

Secure bike parkingCycloparks give you a locked space on the first floor of a city car park, with battery storage and basic maintenance for electric bikes. Four sites in the centre: Esquirol, Carmes, Place de l'Europe, and Saint-Étienne.

Yego scootersFree-floating electric scooters booked in the app, from €0.29 a minute or €25 for 24 hours. Two helmets come with each scooter, and you need a driving licence to ride one.

CarpoolingBlablacar Daily, Karos, and Mobicoop cover everyday journeys around the metropolitan area. The EcoMode app rewards you for travelling by bike, on foot, by carpool, or on public transport.

Car-sharingCitiz Occitanie charges €20 registration for students, then from €3 an hour plus €0.44 a kilometre with a €16 monthly subscription. Iodines has no registration fee and starts at €2.99 for ten minutes or €54.99 a day, insurance, energy, and 60km included.

Useful contacts

TisséoTickets, Pastel cards, and network information. Agencies at Aéroport, Arènes, Basso-Cambo, Borderouge, Jean-Jaurès, and Marengo SNCF; Arènes and Jean-Jaurès by appointment only.
La Maison du VéloBike rental by the day, month, or year, cycling lessons, and a participatory repair workshop.12 boulevard Bonrepos, 31000 Toulouse (next to Matabiau station)
Cycles-ReRefurbished second-hand bikes and repairs, run as a social and circular economy workshop.37 chemin Lapujade, 31200 Toulouse (entrance rue du Maltens during works)
Citiz OccitanieCar-sharing cooperative, with a reduced registration fee for students and annual Tisséo subscribers.
IodinesElectric cars rented by the minute or the day across Toulouse, with no registration fee.
Prime vélo, Toulouse MétropoleThe metropolitan grant towards buying, renting, or converting a bike. Applications are made online.

Frequently asked questions

Under 26. Printed guides still circulate saying 25, but Tisséo's current fare grid sets the youth and student brackets at 20 to 25 years inclusive, so you keep the reduced fare until your 26th birthday.

Not sure which pass?

Ask the community on WhatsApp

This page is written and kept current by AEGEE Toulouse, the volunteer association that's welcomed international students to Toulouse since 2025. Fares change every summer, and the right pass depends on where you live and where you study. Ask in the AEGEE Toulouse WhatsApp group: plenty of members have worked out the same trade-off.

Join the WhatsApp group