France: Interview with Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne
17.09.2017 France: Interview with Transport Minister Elisabeth BorneLe Journal du Dimanche, 17 Sep 2017, p.25:-
In an interview with Journal du Dimanche, Elisabeth Borne, the French Minister for Transport, stated that the plan is to restore the balance in classic transport and promote the emergence of new mobility solutions. She is also aiming for cleaner, more shared, connected and autonomous mobility. According to Borne, the French policy requires reform to give a priority to daily transport and to innovation, rather than to major infrastructure projects like the TGV, which accounted for just 1% of journeys but 16% of investment in recent years. She believes that the upcoming Assises de la Mobilité should allow priorities to be defined, as well as preparing a law on mobility orientation which she plans to present at the beginning of 2018. The law will have a section on the programming of infrastructures, which will offer a ten-year view of what can be done, as well as a section on innovation. Les Assises should allow for the emergence of innovation in the field of transport. Key players must also explain to the government how they can be helped. In zones where heavy public transport cannot be deployed, car pooling and transport on demand by autonomous shuttles constitute solutions, she highlighted. The 2018 budget will increase to EUR 2.40bn (USD 2.87bn), compared to EUR 2.2bn in 2017, to the benefit of daily transport solutions. Nonetheless, thought will have to be given to new sources of funding, such as, for example, making HGVs in transit pay, reports the Minister.
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