Goodbye tickets, controls and fines. This Thursday, at 7 p.m., residents of the metropolis of Montpellier (Hérault) will no longer have to pay anything to take the bus and tram: all public transport provided by Tam will now be free. A first in France, for a network of such importance. 20 minutes answers all the questions you probably have about this revolution.
What exactly will be free now?
From this Thursday, at 7 p.m., all residents of the metropolis of Montpellier, those of the central city, as well as the 30 other villages in the region, will no longer pay for public transport on the Tam network: the tramway, the bus, as well as access to the P + Tram relay car parks. They will no longer have to validate anything when entering transport. The only obligation is to have activated, before boarding the trains, your Free Pass, by providing the necessary documents, in the M’Ticket application.
Those who already had such a pass (young people, seniors or weekend users) do not need to do anything: their pass will be automatically converted this Thursday into a Free Pass. Please note, it is not because it is now free that you do not need to have a valid pass: users are exposed, if necessary, to a fine of 72 euros, and 50 euros in administrative fees. . The fee will however be reduced by 5 euros, in the event of presentation of a valid pass at the Tam Mobility Area, within four days after the violation.
Who will have to continue to rack up?
Those who do not live in the metropolis will have to continue to checkout: residents of surrounding villages, Grand Pic Saint-Loup or Pays d’Or for example, but also tourists strolling in Montpellier, will have to present a valid ticket, taking the tram or bus. The metropolis specifies, however, that “the implementation of total free access on December 21 will not lead to a price increase” for users who do not benefit from it: single tickets and subscriptions will remain at the same prices. Please note, however, that only a third of the fleet of vending machines will be maintained. The best thing to do is to use the M’Ticket application to buy tickets.
How does the metropolis justify this total free access?
For Michaël Delafosse (PS), “free transport is a strong commitment for the benefit of residents”. It is “a commitment to equality, freedom, solidarity, and ecology”, confided the mayor and president of the Montpellier metropolis on September 12, 100 days before the launch of the flagship measure of his election campaign. And that “is priceless,” he assured. For the councilor, free access is a real gain in purchasing power, for residents: this represents, according to the community, a saving of around 1,470 euros per year, for a family of four people.
But free access is also a way of encouraging Montpellier residents to leave their cars in the garage and adopt public transport. If the bet is successful, it would obviously be a big victory for the environment. “The Montpellier experience will be a landmark,” Michaël Delafosse is convinced. Throughout Europe, mobility questions our ability to lead our ecological transition together, to move away from the climate debate (which is no longer in doubt) to make it a social and united revolution. »
How much will that cost ?
According to the metropolis of Montpellier, the cost of free access is around 30 million euros. That is to say a little more than 1% of the community’s total budget (2.5 billion euros), and a little less than 5% of its operating budget (735 million euros).
According to a report from the Regional Chamber of Accounts, published on February 8, it’s a little bit more, in reality. “Ultimately, the cost of free access could represent 35 million euros (…), based on an assumption of loss of 90% of tariff revenue [car les touristes vont continuer à payer], indicates the jurisdiction. To this cost, it will be appropriate to add the amount of VAT since in fact, if the metropolis does not pay VAT on the flat-rate subsidy for the operation of the transport service, it must pay it for the measures to compensate for tariff reductions, i.e. an additional financial challenge which can be estimated at 7 million euros. » Or 42 million euros, in total.
Is everyone in favor of this measure?
If free access is welcomed with enthusiasm by users, the opposition is a little more circumspect. Luc Albernhe (various left) is even totally opposed to it, he recalled, on October 3, during the metropolitan council. “I understand that the idea of free transport for all may seem attractive, but I fear that it will be expensive for everyone, especially the middle classes. An individual with a high salary who rarely takes the tram would not pay more than a person with a lower salary (…) This does not help to fight against inequalities,” indicated Luc Albernhe, more in favor of the implementation place of “progressive rates”. Furthermore, confided the ex-socialist, “it is important to emphasize that transport is never free. They have a cost. If it does not materialize in the ticket you pay when entering the tram, it materializes in your taxes or in the overall quality of public service.”
Alenka Doulain (various left), leader of Mupes in Montpellier, is of the same opinion. “There is a great risk with this free service (…) that it comes at the expense of the quality of the offer, at the expense of transport users,” she indicated, in the same advice. A fear that the Chamber of Auditors itself had put forward, in his report. After the health crisis, details the jurisdiction, “the transport offer was reduced on several lines (…), to compensate for the development of free transport”.
Michael Delafosse, in his response to the Chamber of Accounts, “firmly” refutes the fact that the supply was reduced to support the cost of its flagship measure. This, he says, is a “baseless” assertion. “Optimizations of the offer are a common practice on all transport networks, in the interest of network efficiency,” writes the elected official. The councilor also recalls that the metropolis has launched work to connect line 1 to the Sud de France station, a fifth tram line and five tram bus lines. An “unprecedented” development, he notes, concomitantly with the deployment of free access.