Background information

In December 2022, the government presented a National daily carpooling plan, containing 14 measures and investments. These include:

• A €100 bonus for new drivers paid by car-sharing platforms to encourage people to start car-sharing;
• Support for carpoolers to complement local authorities on the principle of '€1 from the State for €1 from the local authority';
• Mobilisation of the Green Fund of €50 million in 2023 to support local authorities in their projects to develop carpooling infrastructure (areas, routes or trials of dedicated lanes).

In July 2023, following an initial assessment of the plan (see Use of measure), the government launched a commitment charter in favour of car sharing, signed with 16 major employers representing almost one million employees.

Content of measure

The companies that have signed the commitment charter in support of the national plan for everyday car sharing, undertake to:

• Encourage car-pooling by implementing the sustainable mobility package or an equivalent scheme within their group;
• Regularly raise their employees' awareness of carpooling, in particular through the welcome booklet for new employees;
• Provide employees with solutions for car-sharing or facilitate its adoption;
• Regularly evaluate the results and suggest improvements.

A committment charter in favour of car sharing was signed on 13 July 2023 by 16 large companies, such as as Carrefour (105,000 employees), Ademe, Kiabi, Auchan, Cap Gemini, La Poste (250,000 employees), EDF, Leroy Merlin, Les Mousquetaires (150,000 employees).

Use of measure

In July 2023, the national carpooling observatory recorded a total of more than 5.1 million carpooling journeys per platform in six months, i.e. more than twice as many as in 2022 over the same period, saving almost 25,000 tonnes of CO2 and the equivalent of 7.7 million litres of petrol. 130,000 new drivers had signed up to use the government scheme for everyday journeys.

Local authorities have taken action to promote the development of car sharing, with over €8 million worth of local authority projects already financed by the government through the Green Fund: 26 local promotion schemes, 18 incentive campaigns, 91 new car sharing areas and 22 car sharing routes. The momentum is continuing, with 164 projects currently being examined, representing 25 million applications for state support.

Car-pooling has seen a record-breaking growth in early 2024, most importantly, 1.13 million employees across France have so far joined the ADEME's Charter for Employee Car-pooling Commitment.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment Workers in non-standard forms of employment	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies	Companies European Funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

In companies employing at least 50 employees on a single site, collective bargaining on sustainable mobility must be undertaken as part of the (compulsory) negotiations on the quality of life at work. Social partners are thus invited to negotiate measures to improve employee mobility between their usual place of residence and their place of work, in particular by reducing the cost of mobility and encouraging the use of virtuous modes of transport, in particular by covering the costs (fuel and power for electric or hybrid vehicles, etc.) or using car-pooling, cycling and other soft mobility systems, such as public transport, with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of business travel. To achieve this, companies can, for example, take advantage of the "sustainable mobility package", which covers all or part of the transport costs associated with the use of a mode of transport defined by the legislator as sustainable (cycling, car-pooling, private vehicle, etc.) and benefits from advantageous tax and social security treatment.

Views and reactions

No information available.

Sources

• 13 December 2022: Plan national covoiturage du quotidien (www.ecologie.gouv.fr)
• 13 July 2023: Charte d’engagement en faveur du covoiturage des salariés (www.ecologie.gouv.fr)
• 11 March 2024: Covoiturage : des records battus en France (www.automobile-propre.com)