Taxis, excluded from bike and bus lanes, are angry

In Montpellier (Hérault), taxis are not allowed to use the new lanes reserved for bicycles and buses, which have been blooming for a little over a year in the city. The profession, which evokes a “misunderstanding” in the face of a “unilateral” decision of the metropolis, manifested every Friday for two weeks.

On Friday, hundreds of angry drivers, joined by colleagues from the Pyrénées-Orientales, Gard or Bouches-du-Rhône, will cross the city again, to try to be heard. “The South is mobilizing, because everyone is well aware that what is happening in Montpellier can very well give ideas to other people elsewhere, and that it is our profession in general which is in danger”, deplores Eric. Déjean, president of the National Federation of Artisan Taxis (FNAT) of Hérault.

“With the epidemic, the elderly feel safe in a taxi”

For this taxi, the decision of the metropolis is not conceivable, with regard to the service rendered by its profession. “We transport the elderly, people who cannot access public transport,” notes Eric Déjean. Not everyone has the opportunity, at 85 or 90, to get around by bicycle. And with the epidemic, older people feel safe in a taxi. “” We are used to transporting people who have no other means to go shopping or to go to medical appointments, confirms Didier Rocher, representative of the Professional Taxi Union (SPT) in the Herault. This transport policy in Montpellier is only offered to able-bodied, young, and not sick people. “

However, taxis ensure that they can share the road with bicycles. “Cyclists must be able to travel in complete safety,” says Eric Déjean. But they must not be considered to the detriment of the professionals that we are. We are able to get along with the cyclists, to take care of them. “And, he continues,” a taxi is less dangerous on a lane than a bus. Eric Déjean asks the metropolis to put in place a “consultation” to “find solutions that reconcile economic, ecological and security issues”.

“We are the forgotten ones of the politics of Michaël Delafosse”

Since mixed lanes are prohibited for taxis, professionals are chomping at the bit, often stuck, they say, in the many traffic jams. And in such cases, “the clock is ticking, we don’t decide! », Recalls Eric Déjean. Didier Rocher ensures, for example, that at rush hour in Montpellier, by not using mixed routes, the amount of races can climb “by 50%”.

“When we go looking for a client, we try to be there in 10 to 15 minutes,” he continues. If, because of the traffic, and the axes which one can no longer borrow, this period increases to 20, 25 minutes, or even more… The companies will not be profitable any more. “” Users will turn away from taxis, and professionals, who face terrible financial commitments, will no longer be able to live from this profession, scolds Didier Rocher. This is the double sanction. We are the forgotten ones of Michaël Delafosse’s politics. “

“We will not move”

For her part, Julie Frêche (PS), who indicates that the profession has been received several times by the services of the metropolis, confirms to 20 minutes that taxis will not be able to use mixed lanes, which are reserved for bicycles and buses. “This is a position on which we will not budge,” confides the vice-president in charge of transport. We do not want to increase the number of motorized vehicles on mixed roads, so as not to endanger cyclists. This is not unique to taxis: we gave the same answer to delivery men, craftsmen and the Federation of angry motorcyclists. “

But these mixed routes are temporary, recalls Julie Frêche. The objective of the metropolis is to create lanes, on their own site, separated from the roadway, for cyclists. “As soon as we have taken the bikes out of the mixed lanes, we will be able to transform them into bus lanes, authorized for taxis,” said the elected official. Taxis are, for us, an important part of the mobility system. What we want to reduce are people taking their cars when they can travel differently. “