Montpellier: free bus and train transportation
Montpellier in southern France offers free public transportation for its 500,000 inhabitants, financed by a mobility tax on local companies. What do companies and commuters think?
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NewsTranscript
00:00 As Montpellier slowly wakes up this Monday morning,
00:04 Rayenne Chaby is on her way to work.
00:07 Since December 2023, she no longer drives her parents' car
00:15 the seven kilometres to the office.
00:17 Free public transportation is a really good idea,
00:24 especially for people like me,
00:25 who think twice before spending 50 euros on a monthly pass.
00:29 I only earn 2000 euros each month.
00:32 It's similar for my sister, who now also uses public transportation.
00:35 The programme is funded via a 2% wage tax
00:43 that companies with at least 11 employees must pay,
00:47 such as the one where Rayenne works as the manager's assistant.
00:52 Our company used to be in an area
00:56 with poor public transportation connections.
00:58 That's why we moved to this location,
01:00 which is just a three-minute walk from a tram stop.
01:03 For once, the taxes we pay are being used for something that benefits society.
01:10 The mid-sized company provides easy-to-use,
01:17 no-code management software for businesses.
01:20 It has 60 employees and an annual turnover of 1.5 million euros.
01:25 It aims to recruit up to 10 more staff this year
01:28 and says that sustainability will remain a crucial element of its expansion plans.
01:34 As a software developer,
01:37 we only use servers that run exclusively on renewable energy.
01:42 We have planted fruit trees in the garden
01:44 and we limit the electricity that we use for lighting and air conditioning.
01:48 Last year, we had our carbon footprint calculated.
01:52 We've been buying too much plastic, for instance,
01:55 so there's still leeway for improvement.
01:57 The city's socialist-led government is pleased with such efforts.
02:03 It threw a party to celebrate the start
02:05 of Montpellier's free public transport in December 2023.
02:21 Free public transportation gives citizens some of their purchasing power back.
02:26 It's an ecological and a social measure.
02:30 It helps us fight global warming,
02:32 but doesn't punish people and brings everybody in.
02:37 The fewer the cars, the cleaner the air we breathe.
02:42 The scheme costs 30 million euros each year,
02:46 with the city's budget reaching 1 billion euros.
02:49 Economists agree that the money is well spent.
02:53 Like every public service, this is a tool for income redistribution.
02:59 It has positive external effects.
03:03 It lowers the city's CO2 emissions and pollution.
03:06 It also seems to be leading to new shops opening
03:09 and more social diversity in the city centre,
03:11 as it's easier for people to get around.
03:17 But not everyone in Montpellier
03:19 stands to benefit much from the free public transport system.
03:22 The neighbouring town of Saint-Jean-de-Vedasse,
03:24 part of Greater Montpellier,
03:26 has about 12,000 residents and counting.
03:30 Hugo Daillon lives in central Montpellier,
03:32 but works in the suburb.
03:34 He's part of a group that says the money spent
03:37 should instead be invested in expanding the existing transport network.
03:44 This is Saint-Jean-de-Vedasse's only tram stop.
03:47 The tram only runs every 15 minutes,
03:50 even though at the end of the workday, people need to get home.
03:54 The connection is so bad that the local town hall
03:56 has set up a shuttle in one district here that you have to pay for.
04:01 When making public transportation free,
04:03 you need to make sure all parts of the city have access to the network,
04:06 especially in a growing city like this one,
04:08 or else you only please people in the well-connected centre
04:11 and forget about those living on the outskirts.
04:14 The city is trying to change that by an additional tram line
04:20 that will run through Saint-Jean-de-Vedasse and new bus lines.
04:24 The company also aims to become even greener.
04:27 Here we'll build a bike shed.
04:33 And we'll install solar panels on the roof
04:39 to become even more sustainable,
04:41 especially since energy prices have risen.
04:47 In any case,
04:54 transportation is no longer the biggest chair
04:57 in the company's carbon footprint.
04:59 Almost half of the employees here take public transport to work.
05:04 (audience laughing)