“Doing without an individual vehicle is a challenge for many residents, particularly in rural areas.” This is the observation drawn up by UFC-Que Choisir. This Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the consumer association made public the inventory it carried out of access to public transport in Finistère. A state of affairs that she considers “disappointing”, “while the use of public transport rather than individual vehicles constitutes an essential lever for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and consumer spending”.
The Monts d’Arrée, the Poher, the Haut-Léon… can do better
In fact, the study carried out by UFC-Que Choisir reveals that “23% of Finisterians have no access to public transport within a ten-minute walk from their home, compared to 17% on the national average” . If Brest metropolis, Quimper western Brittany, Concarneau Cornouaille agglomeration, Douarnenez community and Quimperlé community “are distinguished by access on foot to public transport for more than 86% of their population”, Monts d'Arrée community, Poher community, Haut- Léon community and the communities of communes of Haute Cornouaille and Crozon-Aulne maritime peninsula have more difficulties: more than half of their inhabitants are over ten minutes on foot. “For public transport to be effectively used by consumers, it is not enough to have access to a train station or public transport station near their home,” points out the association. “Services must also be assured, frequent and on time.”
“An inequality of funding”
UFC-Que Choisir also recalls that “the financing of public transport today depends largely on the contributions of local companies, concentrated in large urban centers”. An “inequality of funding” which, she writes, “penalizes less urbanized areas where local mobility authorities do not have the means to develop public transport services adapted to the needs of residents”. For the association, a rebalancing is therefore necessary “to guarantee equitable access to public transport”. She, who also demands from the public authorities “ambitious investments in order to ensure a quality offer”, “financing of local mobility organizing authorities guaranteeing them the necessary resources” and “regional planning rules” .
