Encouraging local practices to develop a sustainable transport system
May 2023
Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires (ANCT)
The Communauté de Communes du Gévaudan has set up a number of programmes to encourage sustainable mobility. Since assuming responsibility in 2021, it has been developing ambitious initiatives based on a diverse range of means of transport, with practical, ecological, social and economic benefits.
A Community of Communes located on the edge of the Aubrac Regional Nature Park, with a total population of 9,638 and a surface area of 264.50 km2, it is considered to be a rural intermunicipality. It is made up of 12 communes, most of which have a population of less than 1,000. Its territory benefits from the presence of the A75 motorway and the Aubrac line (722).
The project
This environmentally, socially and economically sustainable project is based around three ideas: car-sharing, hitchhiking and electric cycling.
As far as car-sharing is concerned, the « AutopartaG » platform for registering and reserving a vehicle has been created. Users then access a connected key box which, by means of a code, provides them with the electric car and its recharging point, which can be used within a 50 km radius, i.e. in the neighbouring towns of Mende, Saint-Chély-D’Apcher or La Canourgue.
Hitch-hiking, a practice already developed locally, has been encouraged by the creation of 8 stops with a maximum of 6 destinations from which it is possible to go and return. The aim is to link the main towns not only to each other, but also to the A75 motorway and a leisure site such as Lac du Moulinet.
Finally, as part of an experiment, the Gévaudan Community of Communes has set up 2 self-service electrically-assisted bicycle stations in the 2 market towns of Bourgs-sur-Colagne. Each station has 9 spaces, with a total fleet of 10 bikes. This service provides residents and visitors with an accessible and sustainable means of transport via an internet platform or an application.
Objectives
-
To offer a sustainable mobility service in a rural environment;
-
To meet the needs of local residents in terms of intra-communal travel and to avoid self-propulsion;
-
To provide a way for visitors and tourists to discover the area.
Specific features
-
Spontaneous use of the service, with no need to make reservations or plan ahead, to make it as easy as possible to use for everyone (from the youngest to the oldest);
-
The Covoit’Go system takes the form of « car-sharing lines », enabling people to make both outward and return journeys;
-
The choice of electrically-assisted bicycles was made in line with the morphology of the area and the constraints of the terrain.