Montpellier to make public transport free

Montpellier is set to become the latest European city to make public transport free when it eliminates fares for residents later this month.

From 21 December, locals will be eligible for a free pass across the city’s bus and tram network in a bid to cut emissions and improve accessibility.

Julie Frêche, Vice-president for mobility at the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, told Cities Today: “Because mobility is a right, we have made a strong commitment to benefit local residents.

“This is a very powerful measure, reconciling the climate issue, with mobility that emits no CO2, and the crucial issue of purchasing power with free public transport.

“[It] is emblematic because it shows how a metropolis can help to turn the ecological transition into a genuine social revolution based on solidarity.”

Non-residents and visitors will still be liable to pay a fare, and locals will need to be in possession of a free pass which can be downloaded through the M’Ticket app and online.

Montpellier has already run two trials providing free transport to residents.

In September 2020, it made weekend services free, then a year later expanded this to all services for those under-18 and over 65.

Funding

Operating expenses for the new scheme will be borne by the city, using revenue from the Versement Mobilité – a tax paid by all companies in France with at least 11 employees that enables local authorities to fund mobility projects.

According to the city, the region’s “strong economic development” means the funding mechanism covers the network’s €110 million (US$119.5 million) operating expenses and “even compensates for the loss of ticketing resources, which represented 30 percent of revenues”.

Frêche also stressed that the new initiative will not affect the city’s ability to make new investments in public transport.

“Free travel in no way affects our proactive investment policy,” she said.

“The metropole is investing €1.5 billion in low-carbon mobility – in fact, we are building a fifth tramway line, extending another line, purchasing 77 new tramway trains, renewing and securing the rails, reinforcing the bus service, creating a bustram service and developing bicycle lines.”

‘Flip the table’

Currently 280,000 car trips are taken each day in Montpellier – with road traffic accounting for 40 percent of the city’s CO₂ emissions.

Frêche believes the new initiative can change how people view public transport saying it “was an electoral commitment to take strong action to ‘flip the tables’ and change our mobility in the face of the climate emergency.”

“This will change the way people relate to public transport, making it the public transport of all inhabitants,” she said.

“Imagine a city where, even just one day a week, residents chose a means of transport other than the car, be it tramway, bus, bicycle, etc. – congestion would be cut by a factor of five.

“Like all good things, what this will change above all is that very quickly we won’t remember the change, and we won’t imagine a city where transport had to be paid for.”

With a population of almost 300,000, Montpellier will become the largest city in France to implement free fares for residents.

According to the Observatory of Free Transport Cities, 43 French cities and towns currently offer free public transport, but the majority of these have less than 150,000 inhabitants.

Image: Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole