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Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, announced on January 10 free public transport in Île-de-France, from September, but only for children. Which are the cities that have already made the bet of a total free of charge in Europe?
Young people between the ages of 4 and 11 will be able to travel free in September on public transport in Ile-de-France. This was announced on 10 January the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, dismissing the idea of a total free after nine months of reflection and consultation.
Starting in September, in #Paris, #transport in common will become free for children, and they will be at very low rates for teenagers. @Velib will also become free for young Parisians and Parisians. # En2019 #Ecology #Powering power pic.twitter.com/1ls2wjwOnp
Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) January 10, 2019" Free education alone can not be the alpha and the omega of a transportation or mobility policy, " she said in an interview with Libération. Yet, more and more cities in France and Europe are choosing to implement this policy.
Dunkerque, the largest agglomeration in France to have made this choice
Since September 1, 2018, Dunkerque is the first French agglomeration of more than 200,000 inhabitants to apply free transportation. A measure that concerns the buses of its 17 communes, which were largely underused. To offset the cost, estimated at about 8 million euros per year, the community has given up building a new sports hall and concerts.
Since the 2000s, the number of French communities having made this choice continues to increase. Today, they are close to thirty: Châteauroux, Gap, Niort, Vitré, Figeac, Castres, etc.
In Calais, the mayor Natacha Bouchart (The Republicans), announced last November the free buses in the agglomeration from 2020. She presented this measure as a response to the movement of "yellow vests."
Luxembourg, the first country to make all transport free in 2020
From 2020, Luxembourg (600 000 inhabitants) will take the step, becoming the first country in the world to introduce free public transport. The coalition agreement of the government, in power since last December, mentions that " free public transport [bus, train and tram] will be introduced in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg during the first quarter of 2020 ". Dual purpose: reduce traffic jams and improve air quality
The context of this economic, social and environmental context is making this measure more and more popular.
Maxime Huré Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Perpignan, researcher at Sciences Po Lyon 11/01/2019 - by David Pauget Play
Estonia has already preceded Luxembourg on free buses, implemented since July 1, 2018 (trains have however remained paid). Since 2013, they were already free in Tallinn, the capital. This policy has been positively assessed in the country, helping to enliven rural areas and avoid an exodus to the cities.
" Today we are witnessing an acceleration of the transition to free public transport in many French and European cities ," notes Maxime Huré, senior lecturer in political science at the University of Perpignan and a researcher at Sciences Po Lyon. This specialist in free public transport explains it by " a buoyant context ": this measure would make it possible to respond to environmental problems (favor public transport in relation to the car) and to social issues, particularly regarding purchasing power.
The associations of users of critical transports
This idea nevertheless has its detractors. According to the Fnaut (Federation of transport users' associations), in the long term, it conceals "perverse effects undervalued", in particular impoverishment of the transport system due to a lack of funding.
[Press Release] #TransportFree Free # urban transport: attractive idea but little useful and counterproductive. ➡️https: //t.co/5FcuPzPR3F pic.twitter.com/RrCqa3pf1r
FNAUT (@FNAUT_en) September 13, 2018Moreover, according to the Fnaut, free public transport would not be enough to attract motorists, unlike a real improvement in the supply of transport, which therefore requires investment. Several cities have also abandoned this policy because of its cost, as Bologna in Italy and Castellón in Spain.
" There are financial arguments that we can take very seriously, " says Maxime Huré, also noting that financial and technical difficulties are greater on large networks, in larger cities. Nevertheless, according to him, the evaluations carried out so far are positive.
" The Châteauroux and Dunkerque networks, which have measured the effects of free transport, have shown a decrease in vandalism: as there are more people, social control is more intense, and they are less present. He gives as an example. The difficulty in the debate on the issue, according to him, lies in the fact that " few cities undertake an evaluation process ".