Patricia Maire, 54, is ready when the driver, Christian Begrand, parks in front of her doorstep, in the high perched village of Saint-Ciergues (Haute-Marne), overlooking Lac de la Mouche. In the minivan marked “Ready to go” is already seated his friend Françoise Gauthier, known as “Fanfan”, 76 years old, taken care of in a village below, with her shopping cart, her cane and her computer. On the way to the town center of Langres, this Wednesday, November 8, ” the city “located about ten kilometers away.
Both booked their journey the day before, by telephone, like around twenty other passengers picked up at the same time across the country. Patricia is dropped off at the nursing home for physiotherapy, “Fanfan” at Leclerc for shopping, but above all “to make the Internet”. Other days, it’s at the market, at the bank, at a public service counter. Cost of the ride: 2.5 euros. Ten kilometers doesn’t seem like the end of the stick when you have a car. But when we live “at the end” and we don’t have a license, “So that’s a different story! It’s very simplesaid Patricia, without it, we wouldn’t be able to move. It connects us to life.”
” That “, it is neither a taxi nor a bus. This is transport on demand (TAD). Here it is called Linggo – in reference to the nomadic Lingon people. Elsewhere, it’s Tadou (central Doubs), Colibri (Terres Touloises) or Tadi Lib’ (Brittany Porte de Loire). So many names, territories and modalities to designate local public transport that is quite old in the mobility landscape, but which continues to develop.
Open to the general public, in practice, it especially allows people without vehicles to travel at a low cost, where buses do not necessarily run, or to fill off-peak hours. “If we find them in urban areas, TAD is particularly suitable for low-density areas, which are, by definition, more difficult to serve by buses, since demand is low and diffuse. This allows communities to offer a minimum service and comply with the right to transport,” estimates Elodie Castex, professor at the University of Lille, at the Territories, cities, environment and society laboratory.
Fifteen years ago, in fact, the elected officials of the Pays de Langres were looking for a replacement solution for the fifteen buses which were then running empty, because they were unsuitable for the needs of an aging population – stops too far away, irregular services… But there was no question of leave people on the side of the road. “Here, we have around half as many inhabitants as the 10e district of Paris, but a territory 800 times larger, with less than 20 inhabitants per square kilometer”, summarizes Didier Riquet, mobility coordinator at the territorial and rural balance center of Pays de Langres. Elected officials at the time were inspired by the TAD system already in place in central Doubs, which is a benchmark.
You have 70% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.