How France is getting ahead on urban public transport
The French have just announced some major plans to transform public transport in their cities. We could learn a thing or two…
Visitors, commuters and residents alike have spent the last three years, since its opening, marvelling at the wonders of the Elizabeth Line. The 73 mile project, once derided as a white elephant, now seems the integral beating heart of the UK’s capital – carrying over 555,000 people a day, and beating record on record, year after year.
Paris has a similar system, the RER (Réseau Express Régional) – but on a bigger scale. The RER fires people all over the city – across a whopping five lines (in tandem with the Metro system).
Both systems have turbocharged economic growth – both in increased productivity and the supply of housing. The success of both begs the question, if it works here – why don’t we do it elsewhere?
Well, the French have recently greenlit 24 similar projects – whilst Britain is left behind.
Les Services Express Régionaux Métropolitains
The French President, supported by the private sector, announced in 2022 that he wanted to pursue RERs for more than 10 French cities. This was later increased to a staggering 24, in major cities across the nation.
The plan was simple – build medium speed metro-style systems that would provide fast connections from the west or north of the cities to the south or east. They vary in scale; some are upgrades to existing track while some are new schemes altogether; but all seek to improve transport connections and reduce expensive car dependency by providing a fast, frequent rail option – suburb to city.
RERs have been proposed for these 24 cities around France. For each, I have identified a similar-sized town or city in the UK – just imagine if each of these could have a speedy, frequent, cross-town rail service!
| Approved Scheme in France | Equivalent British City | Approved Scheme in France | Equivalent British City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marseille | Birmingham | Saint-Étienne | Luton |
| Lyon | Leeds | Toulon | Derby |
| Toulouse | Sheffield | Grenoble | Northampton |
| Nice | Leicester | Dijon | Portsmouth |
| Nantes | Nottingham | Angers | Peterborough |
| Strasbourg | Newcastle | Nimes | Salford |
| Montpellier | Stoke-on-Trent | Clermont-Ferrand | Swansea |
| Bordeaux | Coventry | Metz | Ipswich |
| Lille | Hull | Orléans | Cambridge |
| Rennes | Reading | Mulhouse | Gloucester |
| Reims | Southampton | Caen | Exeter |
| Le Havre | Milton Keynes | Nancy | Blackburn |
These schemes will seek to bring an ‘Elizabeth Line’ to each of these cities – expanding opportunities for housing, economic development and social mobility.
How is this possible?
Well, primarily – the French government wants these schemes to happen. The French are acutely aware of the negative impacts of overcentralisation, and they are keen to make sure that other cities across the nation are just as attractive to start a business or start a life in as the capital, Paris. They have committed more than €9 billion to the scheme – with the rest of the funds being made up by regional governments and the private sector.
Usefully, French local authorities are able to leverage two measures to get infrastructure built in their area. Primarily, they are allowed – unlike British authorities – to sell bonds to local and international investors. This means that private funding can reinforce the spending of local authorities. Secondly, the French have introduced a levy on businesses of more than 11 employees to fund public transport – the Versement Mobilité. This means that local businesses are empowering public transport usage, and its expansion.
It is also hoped that costs will decrease, as a number of cities green light these schemes. Infrastructure becomes cheaper and cheaper when more projects are planned, and construction firms are able to move resources from place to place.
What will this look like in practice?
The scheme will mean fast, frequent connections to complement France’s already impressive public transport network. The French lead the way in Europe when it comes to local transport, with cities boasting impressive bus, tram and train services.
These schemes are likely to be delivered in, or before 2040, and will lead to a tangible reduction in road traffic – with high density trains taking hundreds of cars off the road each hour.
Cities will quickly feel the effects of fast, frequent transit across their geography – as Londoners have felt here. Pressure will be alleviated on other public transport systems, and it is hoped that these systems will help expand cities, alleviating the housing crises – as well as improving the city centres and reducing costs for businesses and residents.
Why can’t we do this in the UK?
Well, put simply – we can, but successive governments have chosen not to. Various ministers, of all political stripes, have spoken positively about the French system – but we are yet to see significant progress on these schemes – or other large infrastructure investments.
Investing in local infrastructure doesn’t come cheap – but we have consistently urged the Department for Transport and other departments to ignore the up front cost, for the economic, social and environmental benefits that come with completed projects. Good progress has been made in West Yorkshire with the tram network – something that we have celebrated and advocated for expansion in other cities – but Britain needs to go further and faster to get on a par with our colleagues across the Channel…
Main photo by Moovit via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
