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This is a proposition that resurfaces with every election. A simple and attractive measure on paper: make public transport free as in Châteauroux or Dunkirk, two of the thirty French municipalities to have relieved their users of the use of a duly paid ticket. Within the framework of the “Laboratory of the presidential election”, our readers have asked us to analyze the qualities and the defects of this campaign argument.
What is it about ?
Make public transport – bus, metro, tram – free for all or part of the population. The idea would have many advantages, according to Michaël Delafosse, the mayor of Montpellier, who is working to apply it in his city. Minors and those over 65 are already affected, and the entire population will be in 2023.
Faced with the “price of gasoline”, “oil dependence”, “social and ecological emergency”, the city councilor sells free admission as a “powerful” solution to reconcile “environmental requirements and issue of purchasing power”, in a column published on March 21, 2022 in the Obs and calling for the use of this measure to be extended,
What is it really? In 2018, Dunkirk became the largest agglomeration in Europe to install total free access. A year later, bus ridership has increased by an average of 85%. A figure that confirms the few studies and reports on the issue: the measure is effective in attracting the public. But at what cost ?
What are the costs and benefits?
In Dunkirk, the cost is double. Deprived of revenue related to the sale of tickets, the agglomeration had to do without 4.5 million euros. Added to this is an additional cost of 8.9 million euros, linked to the increase in attendance. More users mean more wear and tear, engines running at full speed, greater logistics. In total, the first year of free in Dunkirk cost 13.4 million euros.
“It is a shortfall that must be compensated for by increasing taxes or duties. There is nothing simple,” insists the representative. Thus, some cities have increased local taxes, to finance the measure.
The measure could even prove to be counter-productive, in certain cities. Poorly distributed, the cost of such a reform could slow down the maintenance of buses, trams and other metros, for lack of funding. Especially since with the pandemic, few tickets were sold over the 2020-2022 period and operating costs increased with fuel and gas prices.
“Free is easy to sell, but the main problem remains the investment. What attracts users is above all the quality of service. If it is not there, attendance deteriorates, free transport or not, ”warns Bruno Gazeau, president of the National Federation of Transport User Associations (FNAUT).
Is it really an ecological and social measure?
The ecological contribution seems limited: according to several surveys, it is mainly pedestrians and cyclists who board the free buses. Motorists do not easily let go of the steering wheel, which is sometimes the object of heavy investment. “The impact of free transport on the modal shift from the private car to public transport remains very difficult to measure”, summarizes the Group of authorities responsible for transport (GART), in a study published in 2019.
If the free seems profitable in terms of purchasing power, it is not targeted and thus benefits the households with the highest incomes: “If the question is that of purchasing power, solidarity pricing answers better”, advances Bruno Gazeau. “Why deprive ourselves of the receipts of those who in any case could pay for transport? asks the president of the FNAUT.
Thus, in Paris, Anne Hidalgo finally opted for very reduced prices and reimbursements based on age and income criteria, after the publication of a report by the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for the Evaluation of Public Policies at Sciences-po, judging the ineffective measure: “Nothing is free and there is always someone who pays at the end”, sums up a spokesperson for IDF Mobilités, the public authority responsible for mobility in Île-de-France.
What are the candidates proposing?
Free public transport is a recurring theme in political debate, increasingly highlighted by candidates. The environmental candidate Yannick Jadot offers a “climate freedom” pass for young people aged 16 to 25. It would allow the use of public transport in all communities in France, but also self-service bicycles, and trains, for 50 or 100 euros per month.
On the left, we see above all the advantage for purchasing power: the communist candidate Fabien Roussel president, those under 25 would have free access to public transport as well as to TER and driving licenses. Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) would like to use it as a way to fight against the consequences of inflation: he declared himself in favor of free, “as long as the fuel crisis lasts”.
On the far right, the focus is on the car. If Marine Le Pen proposes to make rail transport free for 18-25 year olds, during off-peak hours, she advocates a reduction in fuel taxes, thereby encouraging the use of the car. Éric Zemmour proposes reimbursement of fuel costs by the employer, up to a limit of 40 euros per month, if there are no alternatives by public transport.
In summary
If the measure is approved by part of the population, it is not advantageous in all circumstances. It would make it possible to increase use of transport, but the effect on car use has not been demonstrated. The social effect is not necessarily there, since all wallets would benefit. But above all, funding must be found elsewhere to maintain the quality of the network… and therefore attendance.