Tariffs for users of transport in the Ile-de-France should increase again next year due to the financing needs of Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), indicated the regional authority in a wish adopted on Tuesday July 18 during its board of directors.
In addition to the desired new tax revenue, “the Board of Directors will vote in December on the necessary increase in local authority contributions and tariff revenue, including specific pricing for visitors during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the reaffirmed concern to moderate the price increases for Ile-de-France residents as much as possible”, indicates the president of IDFM, Valérie Pécresse, in the adopted wish.
At the end of last year, faced with the government’s refusal to increase tax revenue from companies and intended for IDFM, the authority had greatly increased the price of the Navigo pass and the ticket (10%). This time, the government is ready to make a gesture since in a letter sent Monday to Valérie Pécresse and which AFP was able to consult, the Minister Delegate for Transport Clément Beaune assures the regional president that IDFM “will be able to new fiscal leeway from 2024”.
Valérie Pécresse has been asking for many months for an increase in the mobility payment (VM), paid by Ile-de-France companies with more than 11 employees, in order to finance the additional transport offer in 2024 linked to the Olympic Games and the extension of several lines – the 11, the 14 or the RER E. However, only the government can decide on such an increase. Currently, transport in the Ile-de-France region is 52.5% financed by dedicated taxation (the VM) and 47.5% by contributions from local authorities and tariff revenue.
The government intends to respect these balances “over the period 2023-2028” and wishes “a sustainable financing solution (…) capable of guaranteeing the desirable visibility until the end of the decade”, assured Clément Beaune in his letter. . He therefore promises “a multi-year funding trajectory, of which the 2024 Finance Bill will ensure the declination” at the start of the school year. Valérie Pécresse has voted for a wish in which she asks for “the tripling of the tourist tax”, which could bring in 200 million euros to IDFM.
It also calls for “the increase of 0.2 point in the rate of mobility payment in zone 1 and 2”, or 300 million euros from next year. For 2024, Valérie Pécresse estimates IDFM’s financing needs at 800 million euros, which would leave 300 million to be found with communities and users. In his letter, Clément Beaune also promised to halve the fee paid by IDFM to the Société du grand Paris (SGP), responsible for building the Grand Paris metro.