Across mainland France, around forty areas offer users completely free access to their public transport network. In Burgundy-Franche-Comté, only one municipality made this choice several years ago, with success: Joigny, in Yonne.
It runs six days a week, at a rate of one passage per hour. Since 2009, residents of Joigny (Yonne) have benefited from the services of the “P’tite Shuttle” to get around the city. Although it only runs intramural, the bus has a major advantage for users: everyone can take it without paying a single cent!
Why this choice of free? “First, we had to allow residents who have difficulty getting around to be able to do so“, explains the mayor (PS) Nicolas Soret. “And then, on the other hand, we obviously sought to ensure that residents could avoid taking their cars as much as possible, that is to say the goal of any public transport service.“
14 years after it was put into service, the “P’tite Shuttle” is a great success. It is used each year by 140,000 users – Joigny has just over 9,000 inhabitants. “The numbers speak for themselves“, underlines the councilor.
What can inspire other municipalities? According to the Observatory of Free Transport Cities, 43 territories in mainland France have opted for this solution. In particular “small” communities, such as Figeac (Lot), Nyons (Drôme) or Châteaudun (Eure-et-Loir), but also larger towns such as Dunkirk (North) and Niort (Deux-Sèvres).
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It is precisely these smaller municipalities, like Joigny, which would benefit the most from free transport. “Smaller cities do not have an extremely developed network that allows them to assume free“, judge Cédric Journeau, president of the National Federation of Transport User Associations (FNAUT) Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. “Especially since transport ticket distribution structures can represent a significant cost for this type of community.“
A view of Joigny (Yonne). • © Baziz Djaouti / France Télévisions
“It is important to understand that nothing is free. Transport is a public service that should be financed“, he adds, specifying that free “is far from systematically leading to a reduction in car use“.
What Nicolas Soret admits: “I think that residents are trying to drive less, but that comes from the feeling that emerges from discussions with residents. We cannot measure it.“For the municipality, free public transport costs, in total, 165,000 euros per year.
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