The president of the Ile-de-France region is seeking 750 million euros to meet the increase in the operating costs of its transport network.
The president (LR) of Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) Valérie Pécresse will have to find 750 million euros to cope with the increase in the operating costs of public transport in the Ile-de-France region, and wants to put the State, the departments, the RATP, the SNCF and “the least possible” The travellers. “We are going to have the 2023 surge in front of us“, declared Valérie Pécresse to journalists. There “Absolutely colossal rise in energy prices will sweep through everyday transport“, she warned.
“For Île-de-France Mobilités, this translates into a 950 million euro increase in costs for operating the network.“-out of nearly 11 billion euros currently-, the soaring prices suffered by transport operators being reflected in the contracts signed with the regional transport authority, she specified. “We found 200 million euros internally, we still have 750 million to find“, noted Valérie Pécresse, advocating”a fair sharing of the effort“.
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“There is no question for us to lower the offer“, which has already been slightly reduced at off-peak hours while attendance still does not exceed 80% of its level before the Covid-19 health crisis, she insisted. The elected official also does not want to attribute the increase in costs to travelers alone: “I refuse the Navigo at 100 euros“, she assured, since it would be necessary to increase by 25 euros a monthly subscription which already costs 75.20 euros.
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Valérie Pécresse is considering an additional contribution of 100 million euros from local authorities, the Ile-de-France region which she chairs and the Ile-de-France departments. She also intends to recoverexceptionally» 200 million euros from the RATP and the SNCF which make higher margins than expected in Ile-de-France. On the State side, it is asking to lower the VAT from 10% to 5.5%, which would make it possible to recover 150 million euros. “I felt a reluctance from the governmentOn this point, acknowledged Valérie Pécresse, who says she presented her proposals to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and Minister Delegate for Transport Clément Beaune.
The leader also wants to increase the mobility payment (VM), a tax on the payroll of companies with more than 11 employees, especially targeting those located in the heart of the Paris agglomeration. This measure could bring in 250 to 300 million, according to her. “What I want is to increase the Navigo as little as possible“, insisted Valérie Pécresse who however noted that its price had not varied for five years and that the associations of users were not hostile to a moderate increase.
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