Carpooling is one of the major challenges of ecological transition, in order to limit CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The measures announced by the government on Monday should make it possible to speed up car sharing, especially on home-to-work journeys. In France, they are 900,000 to practice it daily. The State hopes to increase this figure to three million users in the medium term.
The aid of 100 euros announced on Monday is nevertheless reserved only for new carpoolers (from January 1, 2023) and drivers, under certain conditions (with a minimum number of trips).
Strong support from the metropolitan area of Montpellier
In Montpellier, this support is in addition to the aid in force since March 2021. The metropolis has “implemented a proactive policy for soft mobility”, underlines Julie Frêche (PS), vice-president in charge of mobility. Among the many alternatives to the car, or at least in its current use, is carpooling assistance for short journeys.
The community is much more generous than the state. All carpooling trips made on the Klaxit application and having one of its 31 municipalities as their origin or destination, are subsidized. For passengers, the trip is free. The driver, for his part, is remunerated. It is paid 2 euros per passenger and for any journey between 2 and 20 km. Beyond that, he collects 10 cents per kilometer, up to a maximum of 40 kilometres. That is a maximum profit of 4 euros per trip and per passenger. On December 6, the extension of this device was voted with an additional envelope of 200,000 euros.
Two euros minimum for the driver everywhere in Occitania
“Every day, 1.8 million trips take place in the territory, with an average distance of 4.9 km. The share of journeys by car represents 50%, including a little less than 1% in carpooling”, underlined the community at the launch of the operation. Since then, the numbers have been growing. October enabled a new record to be set: 35,533 monthly journeys for 20,375 subscribers, including 10,331 active. “That’s more than 4.7 million kilometers traveled by carpooling since March 2021. That’s 528 tons of CO2 not released. »
Outside metropolitan France, residents of Occitanie can benefit from other aid. The region has entered into partnerships with five applications (Mobicoop, Karos, Atchoum, Klaxit and BlaBlaCar Daily) in order to finance both passengers and drivers. “We think of those who do not have the possibility, by their place of residence, to take the train, or whose constraints do not allow them to take it”, evokes Carole Delga, its president (PS) .
For passengers, the charge is 10 cents per kilometer, with a maximum of 2 euros per trip. Two euros is the guaranteed minimum for the driver, whatever the distance. Whereas 21 carpooling areas are for example accessible in Hérault (and ten others planned for 2023), other solutions exist such as the platform picholineswhich allows – in less densely populated areas – to connect drivers and passengers.