Obstructed mobility: understanding and taking action
June 2024
Réseau pour la transition énergétique (CLER)
As the linchpin of individual emancipation, mobility is essential for access to employment, health, shops, leisure activities, day-to-day activities, rights and citizenship. Report from Hérault and Ardèche.
According to a survey by the Laboratoire de la Mobilité Inclusive published in 2017, almost a quarter of French people have given up on a job or vocational training course because of a lack of means to get around. This barrier to mobility particularly affects young people (46%) and the most socially vulnerable (54%). ‘When it comes to access to employment, mobility is the main obstacle. Some people don’t have a driving licence, can’t afford one or can’t drive for health reasons. They have financial or housing problems. The difficulties add up’, warns Muriel Balluais. This vocational integration adviser at the Plan local pluriannuel pour l’insertion et l’emploi (Plie) Est-Héraultais de Lunel (East-Hérault Local Plan for Integration and Employment) works with people aged 46 and over who are far from employment. ‘I see women who have no means of transport’, she continues. This lack of mobility reduces their chances of recruitment and can lead to social isolation. The Plie Est-Héraultais provides electric scooters to enable these vulnerable groups to become independent and extend their range of mobility. Muriel Balluais also works with the Association de prévention spécialisée de l’Hérault (APS34).
Lack of access to mobility: an obstacle to social integration
Run by Mob’In Occitanie and the Agence régionale énergie-climat d’Occitanie, the APS34 works to promote the social integration of the most marginalised young people and their families in priority urban neighbourhoods. Educators run bicycle self-repair workshops in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Lunel, Montpellier Mosson and Marsillargues.
‘Some of the participants have neither a bike nor an accessible means of transport. We lend or give bicycles to young people looking for work and elderly people who need them to fetch their medication or do their shopping’, explains Yohan Lazary, on civic service. The association is working to instil a culture of cycling and the freedom of movement that goes with it.
‘Cycling enables beneficiaries to attend job interviews and work outside their home town,’ adds Muriel Balluais. Cycling is an effective mode of transport for promoting access to mobility for short and medium-distance urban and suburban journeys. By promoting cycling, local players are trying to reduce the barriers to professional and social integration.
Difficult access to mobility solutions for senior citizens
A member of the Mob’In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes network, the Mobilité 07-26 association runs cycling initiatives throughout the Ardèche. It offers workshops to help people regain their confidence, improve their skills, ride safely or discover electric bikes. Sophie got back in the saddle at the age of 65:
‘I wanted to learn to cycle again so that I could get around, get a bit of exercise and go for a ride. I was really scared, but the instructor made me feel confident,’ she says.
This retired self-employed nurse suffers from mobility problems on a daily basis. Her husband has a motor disability. He uses a wheelchair to get around.
‘I find it extremely difficult to get around Le Teil: the town centre is inaccessible, there are inadequate ramps and pavements, and there are not enough reserved parking spaces,’ she complains.
Yet getting around is a fundamental right. Fortunately, there are more and more schemes to promote sustainable mobility. The initiatives run by APS34 and Mobilité 07-26 are also winners of the Tims programme. ‘To encourage inclusive mobility, we need to increase the number of initiatives and raise awareness of the assistance available,’ says Muriel Balluais.
These comments are echoed by economist Pierre Taillant: ‘We need to map out the existing solutions in the regions, build bridges between the different types of mobility and devise solutions that will unlock the barriers.