“Giving priority to the railway requires doubling the investments spent on it”

NoLet us not be a generation of denial and railroad Malthusianism. No one is afraid that the cost of fossil fuels will fall due to the instability of the world, the proliferation of conflict zones and the consequences of climate change. It is necessary to seriously study the economic model of mobility. Mobility will become more and more expensive and has not been paid at its true cost.

The French have become accustomed to cheap fuel, which is actually no more expensive today than it was thirty years ago. In the air, low-cost flights, equal to several full ones, have shaken the criteria. As for the train considered expensive for TGV, the user of regional transport pays only 26% of the cost.

Opaque models

Moreover, the goods travel and cross the world, from Asia to Europe, in full containers, so the cost of transport is lower in the final selling price. Closer to home, Amazon orders or home-delivered meals often feature mentions of “free delivery,” reinforcing the idea that mobility “costs three times as much.” German example of 9 euros [cet été]Goodness for users, covers its real cost [1 milliard d’euros par mois]Equivalent to a year’s investment in the French network.

The cost of external factors (pollution, accidents, cost of roads and road use) is not taken into account and has made economic models opaque for decades. Some types of transport are exempt from tax or benefit from specific tax assistance (airplane, car, truck, etc.). Except for the freeway, the driver does not pay for the use of the road at its actual cost, while the train pays for the right of way. The price of train tracks, which represents 30% to 40% of the ticket price.

Other modes, such as train or public transport, are subsidized by the state or organizing bodies through contracts. The result is a lack of perception of the real value of mobility. It is therefore difficult to compare them and therefore propose a mobility policy that is understood and accepted by citizens.

Political parties, for many of them, have advocated tax cuts in the name of purchasing power, keeping the car all over the place. This expensive policy (€3 billion for three months at around €1.80 per fuel), which opposes the slightest dependence on fossil fuels, is however temporarily necessary if it is linked to the rebalancing of transport routes, for massive investments in virtuous modes. and pedagogy that challenges our fellow citizens to change behavior.