Carpooling is becoming more and more popular. The best-known platform in France, Blablacar, now has more than 15 million users. But local authorities are also getting involved and investing to offer lower-cost journeys. In Normandy, we tested two: Covoit’ici and Karos.
Every day in France, 900,000 people carpool to work. An economical and more environmentally friendly mode of transport. Since the creation of Blablacar in 2006, carpooling – which consists of sharing your journey with other people in mwith cost sharing – is gaining more and more followers. The leading application in France now has more than 15 million users.
But local communities are also getting involved. In Normandy, the Rouen Normandie Metropolis has become France’s leading area for carpooling. This is the result of a study by the National Carpooling Observatory published at the end of March 2022. It is ahead of Angers, Montpellier, Nantes and Toulouse.
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“On average, each car is occupied by 1.03 people for daily journeys, free seats are the norm more than the exception. In France, we don’t have oil but we have free seats”, explains Thomas Matagne, President of Ecov. And to accelerate short-distance carpooling, local authorities are also getting involved by subsidizing journeys.
We tested two!
First test with Covoit’ici. Every day, nearly 10,000 people travel between the urban area of Rouen and Val-de-Reuil to go to work. Trips where people are often alone in the car. So to bring together these people who leave at the same time and who go to the same place, the Rouen Metropolis has just launched a free carpooling line without reservation. The service is available Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in the Rouen-Val de Reuil direction and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the opposite direction.
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The concept works a bit like a bus stop, just go to one of the starting points. In Rouen, there are two: boulevard d’Orléans and in front of the Zénith. Using my smartphone, I ask for a driver, the panel lights up. Then all I have to do is wait. And if I wait more than 10 minutes, Covoit’ici agrees to take care of a taxi to allow me to arrive on time.
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I take the test on a Monday morning around 7am. After a few minutes of waiting, the application tells me that a driver will arrive in 9 minutes. At 7:15 a.m., my driver for the day comes to me. I meet Aurélien, a former rugby player who has just converted to leather goods. “I started carpooling at the same time as my new job”, he explains.
Like most drivers who practice this mode of transport, the motivation is above all economic. If the journey costs nothing for the passengers, the driver receives €1 for making his free seats available at peak times, and €2 per passenger within the limit of 2 journeys per day.
I do this trip every day from Monday to Friday. Without a passenger, I earn about €40 per month, which is not negligible compared to the price of gasoline at the moment. Knowing that I fill up twice a month.
Aurélien, apprentice carpooler
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“We discover the people too. We talk about the rain and the good weather, the journey goes by faster. It’s a pretty pleasant moment.”
As a passenger, over a year, this would represent approximately 1,400 euros saved and 2.6 tonnes of CO2 saved for the planet.
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At 7:40 a.m., Aurélien drops me off at the carpooling area in Val-de-Reuil. You will have to complete the journey on your own.
Summary of the trip: it cost me absolutely nothing. On the other hand, Covoit’ici is currently only available on one route and if I want to go back to Rouen, I will have to wait until 5 p.m. A new carpooling line should open in the coming months between Barentin and Rouen and a reflection is underway with Roumois and Vexin.
I then tested another application. The Normandy region has also embarked on daily carpooling, in partnership with Karos, specializing in short trips. Since 2020, this service has been available in the following 12 territories: Communities of communes Normandy Pays d’Auge, Côte Fleurie, Honfleur Beuzeville, Pont Audemer-Val de Risle, Roumois Seine, Val ès Dunes, Le Pays du Neubourg, Intercom Bernay, Lieuvin-Pays d’Auge, Terre d’Auge, Pays de Falaise, Caux countryside.
On the mobile application, I am looking for a driver likely to leave at the same time and make the same journey as me. Here too, it costs me almost nothing: 2 euros per trip, within the limit of 25 km.
After a few minutes of walking, I find Séverine who gave me an appointment near her place of work. The latter is used to carpooling. “I do it every day, morning and evening. I use three different applications”, she tells us. “I first registered as a passenger when I broke down in my car. I had no means of transport to go to work, that’s where the adventure began.”
I recover on average between 40 and 70€ per month.
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Arrival at destination, and end of this second carpooling of the day, very different from the first. Unlike Covoit’ici, Karos offers more choices of routes and schedules and it is possible to make arrangements more easily with drivers.
But the main thing is that in both cases, I saved money and above all I limited my carbon footprint!
The main interest is first economic : the driver and passengers share the cost of fuel and tolls. For example, if you carpool daily to get to your workplace30km from your home, you could save up to 2,000 euros each year.
Carpooling is also about fighting pollution. Two passengers in a car is twice as much CO2 released into the atmosphere. It is also an excellent alternative to fight traffic jams. No cars, no congestion, no congestion… no pollution!
Carpooling is also useful so that people without a vehicle can get around more easily, where public transport is not necessarily present. It also means strengthening social ties by making new acquaintances. Time passes more quickly and this makes the journey more convivial… But you will have to accept the personality of each other!
You are not immune to a delay, a last minute cancellation and if you are a passenger, you will have to adapt to the driver’s itinerary. Perhaps you will not share the same centers of interest between passengers and your journey will become gloomy. Some drivers don’t like chatting to stay focused on the road, others don’t like listening to music either, and pets aren’t always allowed.
To avoid spoiling the experience, it is recommended to exchange a few messages beforehand. But rest assured most of the time, everyone is there! Between simplicity, user-friendliness, and economy!
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