A few words from…
Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister of Transport.
The use of bicycles keeps on growing since the sanitary crisis, how to incitate those who still hesitate?
We have observed in recent years that crises favour cycling.
This is especially true with the crises we have experienced: the public transport strikes in December and the covid crisis.
We have seen an inflow of more than 34% of new cyclists. But we can do more and better, and France can become a nation of cyclists.
To help it, we are extending the “bicycle boost” program with 50€ per person to repair their bike until the end of the year. And we are also putting in place a bonus for the acquisition of electrically assisted vehicles. This is an €200 in addition to the local authority support schemes.
What about the fear of having its bike stolen?
Bike theft are a curb to cycling. This is mainly due to the lack of secured parking where we can store our bikes and leave them safely during the day.
But this is going to change. We are investing more than 100 million euros to secure bicycle spaces around train stations and we are doing the same work with co-ownerships and companies.
How does the French Government encourage its citizens to #BIKETOWORK?
The second curb is the insecurity some cyclists may feel when they take cycle paths with discontinuities. When you arrive at a roundabout, for example.
We are investing more than 100 million euros to reduce these discontinuities to create new paths or to perpetuate what we’ve called “corona paths”.
Any encouraging measures for the companies?
We introduced the sustainable mobility package during lockdowns. This is an opportunity for both employees and employers.
The sustainable mobility package allows the employer to pay for the employee’s transport costs between home and work, whether it’s by bicycle, carpooling or using any other mode of shared transport.
It’s a lump sum of €400 per year and per employee, and taxes exempt. It can also be combined with public transport passes if it doesn’t exceed €400.
