Two young people were caught on film clinging to the back of a bus speeding at 70 km/h near Lyon on Friday.
- It’s a forbidden and very dangerous practice that has already claimed victims in France and around the world.
- This report from TF1’s 1PM news explains this alarming trend of “bus surfing.”
The video circulated on social networks. On Friday, December 26th, two young people were filmed standing, clinging to a narrow ledge at the back of a bus traveling at nearly 70 km/h on the Lyon bypass. “My eye was attracted by a dark mass at the back of the bus, and that’s when I saw the two men who were clinging,” said the driver who filmed the scene just before 7 PM on the M6 metropolitan axis. “I hesitated a lot to stop the bus, but with the traffic, there were ultimately more risks for other motorists,” he added in TF1’s 1PM news report preceding this article.
This very dangerous practice has a name: “bus surfing.” It is inspired by “tram surfing,” which originated in Russia a few years ago and involves clinging barehanded to the back of public transport vehicles in operation. Initially done to skip the fare, but sometimes also seen as a game that never fails to draw reactions. “It’s catastrophic and extremely dangerous. Young people don’t realize the danger,” noted a pedestrian in Dardilly (Rhône). “It’s horrible, this thing. Why do young people do this? They’re risking their lives,” wondered another person at the bus stop.
On holds that this practice doesn’t spread as it’s very dangerous and prohibited
On holds that this practice doesn’t spread as it’s very dangerous and prohibited
Lucas Turgis, sub-prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
In 2021, a 15-year-old boy died while clinging to a tram in the Lyon metropolitan area. “One can imagine the very important risks that can cause on the traffic and the reactions it can create. We hold that this practice doesn’t spread as it’s very dangerous and it is prohibited,” emphasized Lucas Turgis, sub-prefect and chief of staff of the prefecture of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
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Even though the new buses and trams no longer have ledges to prevent standing, drivers remain concerned and powerless against this phenomenon. “We can’t see it because the camera at the back of the bus only works when we reverse. I don’t want that to happen to me, nor my colleagues, nor anyone else,” said Mohamed, a bus driver in the Lyon region.
The legislation makes this practice punishable by law
To combat this trend, which is punishable by law for property damage or endangering the lives of others, the legal arsenal has been strengthened with the law on the reinforcement of safety in transport promulgated on April 28, 2025. The act of “boarding or sitting on a public transport vehicle, using it as a towing vehicle, or standing on the steps or outside the said vehicle while in motion without authorization” is now punishable by a €3,750 fine.
