Unanimously voted on November 11 by the elected representatives of the Centre-Val de Loire regional council, the implementation of free transport on the Rémi network, every weekend, for 16-25 year olds is now official. It will come into effect from September 2023.
This was confirmed by François Bonneau, socialist president of the Centre-Val de Loire region, at the opening of the council’s plenary session on Thursday 15 December. Lfree on trains and bus Oarsinitially on weekends, it should encourage 16-25 year olds to use their own or their parents’ car less. The cost of the operation amounts to almost 8 million euros out of an annual budget of 1.7 billion.
With energy costs soaring and inflation running rampant, this first step towards universal free access will delight young people. With only a 4% increase in scholarships this year, students are being hit hard by precariousness. For François Bonneau the challenge is also ecological. He wishes “they make you want more circular by train or by bus.
To protect their environmental impact, some cities have gone much further.
Like Dunkerque, Laval or Niort, thirty-eight French cities have made public transport totally free for all inhabitants. Châteauroux has been applying it since 2001 and Bourges is preparing for September 2023. In 2026, in theory, fifty cities will offer free transport for everyone.
As far as the regions are concerned, the price of transport for young people varies from one region to another. In Occitania, for example, young people aged between 18 and 26 are eligible for ten free return journeys per year. Brittany, on the other hand, has been experimenting with a completely free system throughout the summer of 2022.
