Public transport vs. private car (Round 1) : Focus Cars Express Interurbains

France is embracing a major turning point: boosting collective and eco-friendly intercity transport to continue dethroning the dominance of personal cars.

Personal cars reign supreme on the roads, but as environmental challenges intensify, this model shows its economic and ecological limits: maintenance costs, carbon footprint, city congestion…

In this context, express coaches come into play for intercity trips, embodying an innovative and bold response to current issues.

For reference, the Île-de-France region decided at the end of 2023 to create 45 new lines by 2030, and a new express coach line “430” was created between Bordeaux and Blaye, benefiting from a reserved lane on the A10 and on the Aquitaine Bridge.

This solidifies a dynamic of improving territorial public services and user service more generally around three fundamental criteria that we want to systematically follow:

Cost per kilometer: Compared to the average occupancy rate, the personal car imposes an average cost between €0.19 to €0.4 per kilometer depending on the model. On the other hand, express coaches, thanks to their optimized economic model, incur a cost between €0.03 and €0.05 per user, depending on the trips and services offered.

CO2 footprint per kilometer: While a gasoline car emits about 75g of CO2 per kilometer, express coaches, equipped with less polluting technologies and sharing trips among several passengers, drastically reduce this footprint, estimated at 29.33g per passenger.

Passenger satisfaction: While the car offers unmatched flexibility, express coaches, with their onboard services (WiFi, electrical outlets, seat comfort) and their punctuality (a coach every 20 minutes during peak hours between Bordeaux and Blaye), rewrite the rules of the game in terms of comfort and practicality.

In conclusion, for a decarbonized future, France must intensify and diversify its intercity transport offer. Express coaches are not an end in themselves, but the beginning of a broader revolution in our way of conceiving travel. They lay the groundwork for a future where mobility is shared, ecological, and adapted to everyone’s needs.

Are you ready to embark on this adventure towards a more sustainable and connected future? The debate is open!

Impact Consultants, Paul de Rosen and Yvanna Mbianda (with AI)