With the tariff shield, a journey in Île-de-France now costs a maximum of 5 euros

It was a promise made by Valérie Pécresse during the regional election campaign.

The “price shield”, which caps the price of journeys in Île-de-France at 5 euros, and even 4 euros with the purchase of a book of 10 tickets, came into force on Monday.

This maximum price is valid “for all destinations on the train and RER lines of the network” specifies Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the transport regulatory authority.

To benefit from it, all you have to do is buy your ticket, in paper format, at a ticket machine or at a counter.

The capped rate will also be available to subscribers to the Liberté + package in 2023.

“Rates below these ceilings remain unchanged.

The holders of the various Navigo passes are not concerned, since these already allow the use of all public transport”, specifies IDFM.

The end of a "tariff injustice"

“For fifty years, the further you go, the more you pay.

We want to break with this last tariff injustice ”, justified Valérie Pécresse, last September in the columns of Parisian.

Until now, for example, a Massy-Palaiseau-Marne-la-Vallée trip cost 10.65 euros (full price).

For a Choisy-le-Roi-Melun trip, you had to pay 7.15 euros.

From now on, these two routes are both fixed at 5 euros (or even 4 euros with the purchase of a booklet).

The main beneficiaries of the tariff shield are users traveling from the outer suburbs to Paris or from suburb to suburb.

In total, IDFM estimates at “around 21 million” the volume of journeys made each year by buying tickets at more than 5 euros per trip, by “around 2 million people”.

"The objective of this measure is to encourage Ile-de-France residents who travel occasionally to use public transport more, by offering them a simple and more affordable fare", underlines IDFM.

While the Covid-19 crisis has greatly reduced travel and the use of public transport, this capped rate aims to limit the use of private cars.

Read alsoIs it desirable for public transport use to return to its pre-Covid crisis level?

“Since the start of the health crisis, and still today, Île-de-France Mobilités has recorded a historic drop in the number of travelers on the lines of its network.

Thus in February 2022, public transport use is still 20 to 25% lower, depending on the lines, compared to 2019. With this measure, which will encourage Ile-de-France residents in the greater suburbs to use public transport more rather than their vehicle particular as well as the continuation of its investment programs, Île-de-France Mobilités wishes to create favorable conditions for the rapid return of passengers.

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Show that the train "is simple and it's not expensive"

This measure will cost around “35 million euros” per year at a minimum, according to IDFM.

An estimate disputed by the elected representatives of the Left Communist Ecologist and Citizen group at the Île-de-France regional council who put forward the figure of “63 million euros”.

As for user associations, the tariff shield is rather well received.

Even if some note that the sum allocated to this capped tariff could have been used to increase the transport offer today reduced, which aims to achieve around 40 million euros in savings.

“40 million in savings on the backs of users in the midst of a health crisis, 63 million for a new measure… The choices of the regional right are not guided by the general interest!

Without a doubt, other calculations interfere, ”add the left-wing elected officials.

“It is a subject of debate, we recognize at IDFM.

But the challenge here is really to make transport attractive again, and to show that the train is simple and inexpensive.

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