A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #365 - Ecology - Public Mobility: Free Public Transport, a Societal Choice (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

In France, around twenty groups spread across the country have joined 
forces within the Union for Free and Developed Public Transport. These 
groups are made up of trade unions, political organizations, and 
associations (in Grenoble, the UCL participates along with ATTAC, 
Handi-moi tout, the CGT, the FSU, Solidaires, Ensemble!, Génération·s, 
LFI, NPA l'Anticapitaliste, and PCF), and, more rarely, individuals. The 
stakes are high: environmental, health-related, and social 
justice-related. Transport is the leading source of greenhouse gas 
emissions in France. Their share of greenhouse gas emissions has 
steadily increased over the past ten years, reaching 34% in 2023, with 
53% of that coming from passenger cars (22% from heavy goods vehicles 
and 15% from light commercial vehicles). They are also responsible for 
significant pollution through fine and ultrafine particles; 28% of the 
microplastic particles released into the oceans each year are estimated 
to come from tires, making them the second largest source after washing 
synthetic textiles. Public Health France explains that this has 
short-term health consequences, as exposure to pollutants can worsen 
chronic respiratory conditions (asthma, bronchitis, etc.) and expose the 
most vulnerable to premature death. Long-term consequences are also 
significant: even at low concentration levels, exposure over several 
years can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory 
diseases and lung cancer, impacting life expectancy and mortality.

In addition to these impacts, significant social inequalities exist: for 
low-income households or residents of suburban areas, the cost and 
accessibility of transportation determine access to employment, 
healthcare, and leisure activities. In a society where cities are 
compartmentalized-commercial zones, commuter towns, city centers, rural 
areas-mobility has become a key issue for social cohesion. Free public 
transportation would help combat spatial segregation, often linked to 
social and racial divisions. It is therefore not merely a technical 
measure but a societal choice, enshrining mobility as a fundamental 
right and a common good.

Contrary to popular belief, free public transportation is not a utopian 
ideal. It has already been successfully implemented in several French 
cities. By 2025, 2.6 million people will live in areas with free public 
transport, and this number will reach 3.3 million by 2026. This 
corresponds to 47 completely free public transport networks, including 8 
urban areas with more than 100,000 inhabitants (Montpellier, Calais, 
Douai, Dunkirk, Niort, Bourges, Arcueil, and Aubagne) and 13 
municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

It should be noted that the portion paid by users represents on average 
less than 20% of the public transport operating budget, with the 
employer mobility tax financing the majority. By increasing the mobility 
tax to 3% of payroll, as is already the case in the Île-de-France 
region, free public transport could be made universal.

Astragrat is an association that campaigns for free public transport in 
the Strasbourg Eurometropolis.

Photo: Rouge/Alexandre
However, for free public transport to be effective, it often requires 
investment to increase the network's frequency and size. While free 
public transport has a cost related to network expansion, road traffic 
also has a hidden cost with considerable repercussions. In a study 
published in 2015, the Senate estimated the health, social, and economic 
costs of air pollution at between 68 and 97 billion euros per year. 
According to the French National Interministerial Road Safety 
Observatory, road accidents represented an annual cost of approximately 
52.8 billion euros in 2023. Added to this are the costs of traffic 
congestion and road maintenance, which would be reduced with less traffic.

As for the techno-solutions advocated by our industries and governments 
through the widespread use of electric or hydrogen vehicles, even 
assuming they are not an ecological aberration (massive extraction of 
raw materials, battery manufacturing and recycling, production of new 
vehicles with the early replacement of still-functional internal 
combustion engine cars), these technologies would not solve the problems 
of traffic congestion, the expansion of roads and highways which 
contributes to soil sealing, nor fine particulate pollution (from tires 
and brakes). Nor do they address the challenges of social justice. It is 
worth remembering that soil sealing has several consequences. It is 
worth remembering that soil sealing has several consequences: it 
contributes to global warming, because the more soil is sealed, the less 
it is able to absorb CO2, and it exacerbates the urban heat island 
effect; it leads to soil sealing, which increases runoff and the risk of 
flooding; it reduces the agronomic potential of soils and accelerates 
biodiversity loss by destroying the natural habitats of species.

On February 29, 2020, Luxembourg became the first country to offer free 
public transportation throughout its territory.

Wikimedia/GilPe
Free public transportation is a lever for breaking with the 
commodification of the world and reaffirming the importance of the 
commons. To broaden this discussion, we could consider free access to 
all basic social needs: water, energy, healthcare, education, etc. Those 
best suited to determine these needs remain the people, through a 
genuine democracy and an internationalist vision, and not a 
representative democracy that favors the interests of the dominant 
class. This conquest is not in itself a revolution, but a concrete 
social and ecological victory. It allows us to build a cultural 
counter-hegemony, to modify consumption patterns, and to question the 
organization of production. It immediately improves living conditions 
while keeping in mind our societal project: a complete transformation 
towards a libertarian communist society.

Red Coal and Léo (UCL Grenoble)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Mobilites-collectives-La-gratuite-des-transports-publics-un-choix-de-societe
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