Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: MYCHELE DANIAU / AFP 5:56 p.m., March 11, 2024
Emmanuel Macron wanted it for everyone, the rail pass will ultimately be reserved for young people for unlimited travel on the TER and Intercité network during the summer period.
A decision which satisfies the regions who are now waiting to see the financing conditions.
The latter already offer social rates aimed at young people as in Occitania.
The abandonment of the idea of a rail pass for all, replaced by a summer-only system reserved for young people to travel without limits on the TER and Intercités network, satisfies the regions of France, which are waiting to see the financing conditions .
“We agree with the Minister of Transport, mobility is a matter of pragmatism, and promises cannot be made with other people's money,” welcomed the Association of Regions of France (ARF) on Monday to the 'AFP.
“The idea is good, except that it’s being prepared, it can’t be decided on TikTok”
Last Wednesday, the Minister for Transport Patrice Vergriete definitively buried the idea of a monthly pass open to everyone to travel anywhere in France thanks to regional trains and Intercity connections.
The initiative, defended by former minister Clément Beaune, aimed to make the train more attractive and affordable, drawing inspiration from the German model, with a flat rate of 49 euros per month.
Patrice Vergriete promised to quickly contact the president of the Association of Regions of France (ARF), Carole Delga, to discuss the new system.
The regions, which finance regional trains and decide on prices, are awaiting clarification on the “technical, operational and financial conditions” of this offer.
“The implementation of a rail pass can only be carried out if it is financed by the government and if it does not generate new costs for the regions,” argued the ARF.
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The regions already offer social tariffs aimed at young people, such as in Occitanie where "the essential question is rather that of investment in the railway, which is not up to par", according to Jean-Luc Gibelin (PCF ), Deputy Vice-President for Transport.
Northern senator Franck Dhersin (Horizons), former vice-president of Transport in Hauts-de-France, denounces the government's improvisation on this issue.
“In Germany, with this system, they had 25 to 30% more users and it was a mess, because they had not added trains,” he underlined.
“The idea is good, except that it is being prepared, it cannot be decided on TikTok on a Sunday afternoon,” he added, in reference to the interview with Emmanuel Macron during which he announced measurement in September.
A summer rail pass exclusively reserved for young people already existed in France in 2020 and 2021. It was reserved for under 27s, who for 29 euros per month could borrow any TER anywhere in France - except in Ile-de-France. France -, but not the Intercités.
The first summer, 70,000 passes were passed, then 84,000 in 2021, before the measure was abandoned at the request of the regions.