By Daniel BURSAUX

Director general of Infrastructures, Transportation and the Sea, Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy

Abstract

During the decade starting in 2000, the French significantly changed their behavior in relation to transportation. The number of rides per day per person, which had considerably increased till the mid-1990s, now tends to be stable. Although “unnecessary” reasons still account for the majority of trips, rides for “necessary” reasons — typically from home to work or school, and vice-versa — are becoming longer everywhere around the country. This is a major factor behind the increase in the distance traveled daily. Although the use of cars has slackened in urban areas, population growth in the exurbs has augmented automobile traffic at the national level. Meanwhile, public transit, thanks to the tramway revival, is carrying more passengers, especially in agglomerations with good transit systems that respond to passengers’ ever stronger demands for quality services. Bicycles have reappeared on city streets; and new behavior patterns, such as car-sharing or -pooling, hold promise for the future. Public authorities are backing these trends.