The results are in. Universal free public transport, introduced in Montpellier in southern France in December 2023, is proving to be a runaway success.
A Mobility Observatory set up by the local authority has published a report on the first two years of the scheme.
There is much still to be done – especially, investing in further improvements in the service, and tackling arguments about how it will all be paid for. But the problems are easily outweighed by the achievements: car traffic is down, active travel is up, and low-income households are feeling the benefit.
Fare Free London has compiled a summary of the outcomes from press reports, with the help of our friends in France.
Highlights of the Mobility Observatory’s results, reported in Le Monde Diplomatique, include:
- On weekdays, the share of metropolitan residents driving a personal vehicle has dropped from 70% in 2019 to 51% in 2025. In the city proper, this share has fallen from 58% to 45%.
- This fall has benefited walking (up from 17% to 28% across the metro area, and from 21% to 29% in the city) and cycling (up from 4% to 6% metro-wide, and from 5% to 8% in the city).
- Public transport’s share of trips in the metro area rose from 10% in 2019 to 15% in 2025, and within the city from 17% to 19%.
More than half a million residents of the Montpellier metropolitan area are eligible for free transport passes, and 420,000 people (82%) now have them. Public transport use is 39% higher than it was in 2019, i.e. just before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Free public transport was introduced in stages: on weekends in 2020, for under-18s and over-65s in 2021, for everybody in December 2023.
Anyone who lives in any of the 31 municipalities in the Montpellier metropolitan area, near France’s Mediterranean coast, travels without paying or swiping. They just need the pass, which acts as proof of residence.
Download the full report here.
Published date: 29th March 2026
