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Economie
Le 14/03/2023

Reduce traffic jam, improve air quality and encourage soft mobility practices: Lille Metropole's Ecobonus program

In September 2023, Lille Metropole will launch Ecobonus, a program rewarding car-drivers aiming at changing their habits, to help reduce traffic jam and air pollution.

 “Changing pays !”; this is the motto of Lille Metropole latest Ecobonus measure to encourage car drivers to change their habits and reward those making efforts towards more environmental friendly practices.

Inspired by Rotterdam’s positive toll system launched in 2015, which compensate motorists not using their vehicles at peak hours by  refunding a part of their transportation subscriptions or 3€ in cash for every avoided trip, the Ecobonus is the first initiative of its kind carried out in France.

Reducing traffic congestion and air pollution are common challenges European metropoles are facing today, explaining why Lille Metropole chose to take a step in this direction. As its president stated it, “With Ecobonus, we address the climate emergency by a concrete action: reward those who do not use their vehicles to drive on the Metropole’s main congested highways axis, to move towards soft mobilities […] This is the opportunity to act directly on users behaviors, to reward them in improving air’s quality.”

This measure targets alone-drivers using the metropolis’ main highways (A1 and A23) daily between 7 and 9 a.m. and 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., with a priority on promoting carpooling. Based on volunteering, Ecobonus will be implemented gradually, starting from Spring 2023 and according to the following calendar:

  • 3 April - 12 May: application are open to voluntary drivers,
  • May-June: eligibility checks by monitoring the drivers’ roads thanks to the Automated Reading of Licence Plates (LAPI),
  • Summer: enrollment of the selected drivers through complementary pieces and their account creation on the dedicated app.

In total, 5 000 drivers will take part in this 9 months program. Once registered, drivers will have to declare every avoided trip in app. allowing Lille Metropole to assess the number of trips avoided every day. For each trip avoided, the driver will receive 2 € up to a maximum of €80/month.

With an overall cost of 11 Million euro for the collectivity, Lille Metropole expects a diminution of 6% of vehicles used every day, as well as air quality improvement. Besides, this measure opens the way toward encouraging environmentally friendly practices like soft mobility, by empowering and rewarding Lille Metropole’s citizens.  

Keep in touch with us through our newsletter to learn more about the outcomes of this pioneer action lead by Lille Metropole. 

Infos and links: lillemetropole.fr

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