Maps of free of charge - 3/ Cases of political changeover of cities that have set up entirely free-of-charge access

Political changeover, essential in politics, raises the question of the sustainability of projects and budgetary choices. Fare-free public transport is a political choice made by a given municipality on a particular date.

Does a political changeover result in free of charge being re-evaluated? In none of the eleven areas involved has free-of-charge access so far been called into question for this reason. Free of charge is an eminently popular public policy and, in this respect, difficult to cancel for a newly elected official.

Free-of-charge access threatened by the transfer of skills more than by a switch

Let's take the example of the city of Aubagne, which introduced free-of-charge access in 2009 under a communist town hall. In 2014, the election of a new mayor, a Republican, did not change this at all. In Aubagne, as in other cities, free-of-charge access is more threatened by the transfer of skills, and in particular mobility skills. Indeed, it is difficult for an EPCI to manage an area with an exception, in this case free-of-charge public transport...

It is in this specific context that several cities have been forced to cease free-of-charge public transport, including Bar-le-Duc and Cluses.

The city of Aubagne has integrated the metropolis of Aix-Marseille-Provence, which does not wish to extend free-of-charge access to its entire network. For the time being, free of charge is still in use in the Pays d'Aubagne and the Etoile regions, but payment for public transport is required in the metropolis of Aix-Marseille-Provence. The next municipal elections will therefore be decisive for the sustainability of the project.