The editorial team advises you
1. Angoulême: 45% of journeys
Angoulême is where the activity is the strongest. And by far: the city alone accounts for 45% of the 18,600 total journeys made and has nearly 1,500 users out of a total of 3,300, according to figures provided by Fifteen, the company behind the project. With around thirty movements recorded each day, the Hôtel de Ville station is the busiest in the entire network, followed by those located at the Angoulême and Royan stations, 3e. Of the eight terminals in the Greater Angoulême area, the one at Espace Carat in L’Isle-d’Espagnac is the one that attracts the least. “It’s unbalanced,” notes Fifteen. “They mainly do deposits but very few withdrawals.” On Thursday morning, the station was full, with ten bikes.
The editorial team advises you
2. Lower prices
Prices have been revised downwards. Renting a bike costs 1 euro per 30 minutes, which is well below the initial rates: 0.10 cents/minute for one hour (or six euros per hour) then one euro/hour. An hour of daily cycling from Monday to Friday therefore cost 30 euros per week and 120 euros per month. Expensive!
The editorial team advises you
“We wanted to stick as closely as possible to the price of a public service,” explains Nadia Goupil, sales director at Fifteen. A new formula at 5 euros per day has also been introduced. For holders of a TER and regional bus subscription, the price remains at 15 euros per month (12 hours of daily privatization) – the same rate for others who can subscribe to a monthly formula giving the right to a daily credit of 45 minutes.
Another new feature: the extension from five to seven kilometers around the Angoumois station of the circulation perimeter authorized by these bicycles. “We wanted to move forward step by step. As everything went well we decided to expand the area,” says Fifteen.
3. Will these bikes stay?
The experimentation of this Modalis service will end next December. Its cost of 600,000 euros was financed 66% by Fifteen’s own funds – the rest comes from the State and the communities concerned, including the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. What will it be in January 2025? In short, will we still be able to use self-service bicycles in Grand-Angoulême? “This test was more than conclusive, now it’s up to the territories to transform it,” indicates Jérôme Kravetz, director of the Syndicat Mixte Nouvelle-Aquitaine Mobilités. Understand: in GrandAngoulême to put your hand in your wallet. The manager assures that “discussions are underway with this Agglo which is with a view to deployment. » Contacted, she indicates: “We have not yet shared the results of the experiment with our working group so we cannot communicate on this subject for the moment. »
