Should public money be spent on public transportation?

“If we want to mitigate the effects of climate change, it is essential to prioritise transport funding within our economy. This is necessary from an environmental standpoint to reduce our carbon footprint, from an economic standpoint to improve the efficiency of our projects, and it is also a social priority. It responds to a real need among our citizens. This need expresses itself at the scale of a territory, by bringing people closer to their homes and therefore reducing the distance between work and housing; it is also essential for improving quality of life within neighbourhoods. In the projects we carry out, we work every day to deploy innovative solutions to deliver more transport services, and we collaborate closely with mobility operators across the Île-de‑France region to roll out this new offer. Both the Société du Grand Paris, which is building the Grand Paris Express network—allowing for direct connections between suburbs without passing through Paris, a major transformation in the organisation of transport in the Île-de‑France—and Île‑de‑France Mobilités, which is currently rolling out the Tzen and an extensive bus network that deeply connects the region. I believe these major developments, and the resources allocated to funding these projects, are considerable. And it is the role of every actor involved in shaping the city to help implement these transport systems and to provide high‑quality public spaces and travel conditions for the residents of Île‑de‑France. This is essential if we want them to give up car use—or at least if we want to offer them credible alternatives to the car for getting around, working, or enjoying the services available across the region.”