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Cable car: a transport mode more and more plebiscited

Switzerland: RATP Dev, the Transports Publics Genevois and COMAG (a subsidiary of POMA) were entrusted with the operation and maintenance of the cable car of Salève, with effect from May 1^st, in the frame of a partnership of companies.
The historic cable car, established in 1932, is a must-see tourist attraction in the area.
A shuttle service connecting the cable car station with the urban public transport networks of the cities of Annemasse and Saint-Julien en Genevois (both operated by RATP Dev) and Geneva (operated by the TPG) has been implemented by the consortium.
N° 5. 2 May 2013

Promotion of bicycling in the Walloon region

Already 6 municipalities in the Brussels region and 13 in the Walloon region were supported by their regional government to elaborate a communal bicycle plan with the help of BYPAD (Bicycle Policy Audit). BYPAD allows a thorough analysis of the cycling policy based on which a tailor made action plan is created.
To promote cycling in the Walloon region, the government awarded 18 million euros to 10 of the BYPAD municipalities to accomplish the actions of their cycle plan over a period of 4 years. With this type of funding, both the Walloon and Brussels regions hope to realise a substantial modal shift in favour of cycling. Currently, only 1% of the trips are made by bike in the Walloon region and 3% in the Brussels region.
N° 5. 2 May 2013

Metz: a BRT operational in September 2013

From next September, the METTIS, a bus with high level of service of the city of Metz, will be operated on two new lines with 39 stations in dedicated lanes with a timing of five minutes. The A line totaling 12.5 km and the B line, 11 km, will share the dedicated lane over a distance of 5.6 km in the city center section.
The Mettis will offer a commercial speed of 20 km/h, an operating time schedule starting at 5 am until midnight, with a service every four minutes in the city center and eight minutes on the ends of the lines.
Attendance is forecasted at 25 000 passengers/day at start up. Eventually, 36 000 are expected. A third line is under study.
N° 5. 2 May 2013

Free public transport in the Estonian capitale

Since the 1st of January 2013, the 400 000 residents of Tallinn can enjoy free public transport in their city.
The municipality of Tallinn believes this initiative is worth an extra 12 million euros if it indeed results in people shifting their car use to public transport.
This measure is the outcome of a referendum to which nearly 70 000 residents participated and which 75.5% voted in favour.
Besides becoming a greener capital, the city also wants to improve social welfare and inclusion among its residents.
N° 5. 2 May 2013

Meanwhile Hasselt in Belgium cancels free public transport after 16 years

The city of Hasselt abolished public transport fares that it implemented in 1997. For many years, this experimentation was the flagship of the "policy of free". This will now come to an end and, only young people under the age of 19 will still travel for free.
Hasselt experimentation was long considered as a success story. Until June 1997, there were approximately 1 000 bus passengers per day. Ten years later there was an average of 12 600. Travellers transferred from cars, but cyclists also started using the free bus!
Meanwhile the cost of the free bus experiment almost quadrupled in ten years. The cost of free public transport in Hasselt for the transport operator De Lijn had risen from 967 000 euros in 1997 to 3 453 million euros in 2007.
After 16 years, Hasselt has to make budgetary efforts to keep the costs under control, as in other municipalities. The Town Council has therefore decided to sharply reduce the subsidies assigned to public transport. Now, anyone who is over the age of 19 will have to pay 60 eurocents per ride. This ends the free public transport era in Hasselt.
Observers state that the end of the free bus experiment is not a political decision but a decision motivated by sheer financial necessity. This was simply too much for the city in the current economic circumstances.
N° 5. 2 May 2013

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The European Club of Intermodal Regions and Cities

18^th and 19^th June 2013
Study visit to Oslo - Akershus, the Norwegian Capital Region.
Planning for the future of Europe's fastest growing capital city.
A study visit organized by INTERMODES in close collaboration with the City of Oslo, the Akershus County Council and Ruter, the Region's transport authority.
Detailed programme
On line registration.

5^th and 6^th September 2013
Study visit to Leipzig.

The 2014 Congress

Green intermodality.

The 2014 Exhibition-Village

Last February, the Exhibition-Village welcomed 8 European intermodal communities: Pontevedra, Brest Métropole Océane, the Kaliningrad Region, Lille Métropole, Euregio Maas-Rhine, Tallinn, the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region and the Lorraine Region.
In 2014, the Exhibition-Village will showcase even more examplary intermodal communities.