Since September 2022, young people aged 18 to 24 only pay €12 per year for their bus subscription. Or €1 per month. Has this unbeatable fare increased the proportion of young people who have taken the bus over the last two years? The new Minister of Mobility, François Desquesnes, was not convinced of this when he took up his post. He then asked the Tec to carry out an evaluation of his pricing policy, particularly focused on evaluating the reduction in prices for young people aged 18-14. “The objective of introducing this advantageous fare was to increase bus attendance but, according to the provisional report that I received, there was no significant upward impact on the growth in bus ridership.”
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In any case, nothing that would justify maintaining the measure. “Of course, those who have benefited from this aid are certainly happy with it, continues François Desquesnes. But this should not be a windfall effect. If the investment made by the Tec does not result in an interesting societal return (security road, climate, pollution, etc.), this cannot continue. I am in favor of efficiency. For each public euro spent, we must aim for the best return for society. Because running a bus costs the community. .”
The shortfall generated by the lowering of the price for 18-24 year olds potentially prevented the provision of another service whose societal impact would have been more interesting. Like splitting a bus, creating a new line,…
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In the coming weeks, the minister will therefore work, with the Tec, to review the Tec’s pricing policy for a rebalancing and better efficiency of the means invested by the public transport company.
Especially since this will also put an end to certain significant discrimination, particularly between teenagers and young adults. Where a 17-year-old will pay €281 per year for a Horizon subscription (allowing travel across the entire network), they should only pay €12 per year once they turn 18. “We will have to rebalance fares between different age groups and ensure that the money given to reduce fares has a positive impact, so that more people take the bus.”
