Today, we want to share with you an exciting initiative that could revolutionize how we use public transportation in France.
The Ministry of Transportation recently organized a hackathon in February 2023, during which two innovative solutions were selected: France Moov' and Carte LEM. These solutions could hold the key to addressing one of our era's most pressing issues: reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
The idea? A self-declaration system for the start of a journey (Check-in) or self-detection (Be-In), and a self-declaration system for the end of a journey (Check-out) or self-detection (Be-Out). Validation or control is made possible through a smartphone or a physical card on the equipment. Billing is done at the best price based on the user's profile and all the journeys undertaken.
In France, transportation is currently the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, primarily due to the widespread use of private vehicles. However, public transportation offers a much more sustainable alternative, with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions per passenger, increased energy efficiency, and a potential for solidarity. That's why it plays a crucial role in decarbonizing our society, aiming for a modal shift of 5% by 2030 toward railways, buses, coaches, and bicycles.
For public transportation to become a competitive alternative to private cars, it's essential to facilitate multimodal journeys, make them seamless and connected through intermodal hubs, and establish a single-ticket system. However, there are currently over 200 distinct ticketing systems for urban and interurban public transportation in France. For occasional travelers, visitors, or those taking unfamiliar routes, this often means having to go through a ticket office, an automatic dispenser, multiple online booking platforms, or even installing a mobile app to purchase a ticket. This diversity complicates administrative processes, results in an unsatisfactory customer experience, generates stress, and can deter the use of public transportation.
This is why the Minister Delegate for Transportation, Clément Beaune, has launched an ambitious project to create a single travel document for all transportation services in France. This initiative aims to enhance the user experience and encourage modal shift by integrating all modes of mobility (trains, buses, subways, carpooling, car sharing, parking, etc.) onto a single travel document.
The operational objectives of this project include the creation and experimentation of a national application between 2023 and 2025. Subsequently, the project will leverage existing platforms such as local route calculation apps or smart cards and bank cards. The experimentation will begin in 2 to 3 pilot regions, with the participation of all local Mobility Organizing Authorities (MOAs), and will encompass the development of various technical components, such as the mobile app, data sharing among MOAs, management of unified mobility accounts, ticket generation, and pricing.
This project also aims to pool technical resources among MOAs to reduce the development and maintenance costs of local ticketing systems.
In the long term, this strategic project aims to establish a roadmap for the efficient use of existing standards and to avoid duplications with local or private initiatives. It's a pioneering initiative involving close cooperation between the State, regions, and local MOAs to create a shared digital service.
We are excited to follow the progress of this project and see how it will transform the way we use transportation in France. Stay tuned for more information and exciting updates on this topic!