Posted November 18, 2022 at 11:13 am
Angers Loire Métropole (ALM) has voted an additional budget of 15 million euros to support the upgrade of its Irigo public transport network. This must reach a new level with an offer increased by 10%, or 1 million more kilometers to reach 11.9 million kilometers in total.
The goal is to generate traffic growth of 25% over the next five years. “In ten years, the network has not changed while we have recorded a 41% growth in the number of users,” underlines Corinne Bouchoux, vice president of Angers Loire Métropole, responsible for the ecological transition and mobility. The elected member reminds you that even in Angers transport is in first place in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
cross plan
The first step will be the installation of an additional 700,000 kilometers in July 2023 with the opening of lines B and C of the tramway marking the completion of a €300 million project. The first connects the Belle-Beille campus to the west with the working-class neighborhood of Monplaisir, which is undergoing redevelopment, to the northeast. As for line C, it departs from La Roseraie, to the south, doubling line A, to also return to Belle-Beille.
Line A connects the commune of Avrillé, to the north, with the Roseraie, to the south. “We now have a cross-sectional network converging towards the centre. 70% of the inhabitants of the agglomeration are located less than 500 meters from a tram stop”, quotes Corinne Bouchoux, who insists on the inter-municipal and multimodal dimension of the plan. “In the bicycle plan, the urban community has supported the purchase of 7,000 pedal-assisted bicycles since 2018, 70% of them outside Angers”, indicates the elected.
Social changes
The additional 15 million euros will make it possible to upgrade and build new express lines towards the suburbs (Mûrs-Erigné, Beaucouzé and Loire Authion), promote intermodality with a new interchange hub between trams, new park and rides, an offer five-fold increase in on-demand transport and increased supply of safe deposit boxes.
ALM will also work on the network’s adaptability to changes in society (teleworking in particular) and territorial transformations. Research and development work is underway on these topics.
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