France invests 150 million euro in ridesharing

Mpact calls for a similar carpooling plan for Belgium.

Needless to say that Mpact – offering a carpool platform in Belgium – is enthusiastic about the 150 million euro France is investing in ridesharing.

“Carpooling has the potential to significantly reduce the resource consumption of our transport system. Ridesharing makes journeys more efficient and less polluting. This is only possible if carpooling is treated as a fully-fledged mode of transport and is structurally supported, as it is now in France” says Tjalle Groen, project director at Mpact.

The main measure is a bonus of 100 euro for new carpool drivers. This bonus is available to any driver and is granted when they have completed ten carpool trips.

Drivers must complete the trips through a government-approved operator. Each operator must connect to the national carpool register, an official monitoring platform that proves that a ride has actually been made.

Besides the bonus, the government gives financial support to municipalities that want to encourage carpooling. Also when they introduce a commuting allowance, for instance. Finally, the government invests in the construction of infrastructure such as carpool lanes and/or carpool parkings.

For each of the three pillars of this plan, 50 million euro will be allocated. The goal is clear and ambitious: to more than triple the number of carpool trips, up to three million trips a day.

The French approach is not new: the system of operators and the carpool register was introduced three years ago. This system allows the French government to offer incentives for ridesharing. Mpact is convinced that this model can also be successfully applied in Belgium, taking into account the local context.

Mpact continues to facilitate carpooling and further encourages the authorities to follow this good example and implement a Belgian carpooling policy in cooperation with the regions.

More information: https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/dossier-presse-lancement-du-plan-national-covoiturage-du-quotidien