The specter of a blackout in Ile-de-France transport is receding.
Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the organizing authority for transport in the region chaired by Valérie Pécresse, had nevertheless declared insolvency in early July.
With little or no revenue since confinement, by the absence of taxes paid by companies or the drop in sales of Navigo tickets and passes, IDFM no longer had the means to pay SNCF and RATP to run trains, RER, buses and subways.
Valérie Pécresse demanded state aid to the tune of losses, estimated at 2.6 billion euros (billion €) in 2020. Without seeing anything coming, IDFM had therefore started a standoff with the government by no longer paying SNCF and RATP in July and August.
But the situation is about to be resolved in September.
Laurent Saint-Martin, LREM deputy for Val-de-Marne and rapporteur for the state budget at the National Assembly, plays the intermediary between the state and the region.
He presents exclusively to the Parisian the solution which should make it possible to "save Ile-de-France transport".
What do you propose to solve the financial problem of transport in Ile-de-France?
LAURENT SAINT-MARTIN.
I call on the government to help Ile-de-France Mobilités for its tariff losses.
A refundable advance from the State is needed to match the losses of ticket offices (metro tickets, Navigo pass) suffered by IDFM in 2020 because of the Covid-19 crisis.
The amount will have to be estimated at the end of the year but it will very probably exceed one billion euros.
We can act on the principle of an advance of 1 to 1.5 billion €, to be refined, to be reimbursed to the State without interest from 2023. As rapporteur for the budget, I will propose this solution during the bill of corrective finances in the fall, to allow payment of this advance in January 2021.
Will this be enough?
This refundable advance will make it possible to fully compensate for tariff losses.
This is the expected step, the logical continuation after the start of the solution provided by the Assembly this summer, which provides for a subsidy to IDFM to compensate for tax losses this time
(IDFM also affects the “mobility payment” of companies, but it fell with partial unemployment, Editor's note)
.
The estimate of this first installment is 600 million euros, it may still be revalued upwards.
It will be paid to IDFM in the coming days.
With these subsidies and the repayable advance, the losses related to IDFM's Covid will be reimbursed at 100%.
There will be no increase in transport prices in Ile-de-France.
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Are you asking IDFM for rewards?
Already, IDFM must immediately pay what it owes to SNCF and RATP.
Then, we need to have a clear vision of IDFM's investment strategy to improve daily transport.
The recovery plan clarifies the State's commitment to the financing of certain projects
(automatic piloting of RER B and D, extensions of RER E and T1 and T3 tramways in particular, Editor's note)
.
It is now up to the region to play its role by maintaining these essential investments.
The absolute priority is to improve the transport conditions of Ile-de-France residents.
