How the Occitanie Region is banking on everyday mobility and a new cycling plan

Ce jeudi 28 mars, dans l'hémicycle de l'Hôtel de Région, à Montpellier Midi Libre – MICHAEL ESDOURRUBAILH

The Region presented a new cycling plan with one hundred million euros. The investment for the mobility component of the State-Region plan contract now amounts to 1.56 billion euros.

Gathered in the regional hotels of Toulouse and Montpellier, this Thursday March 28, the 158 regional councilors of Occitanie, among the main reports on the agenda, debated at length around new aid measures for farmers, already presented the day before by the president of the community, Carole Delga.

For mobility, 93 million euros in addition to the State

Where it was also a question of the State-Region plan contract (CPER), more particularly of its mobility component, new contours of which were revealed in the hemicycle.

Indeed, if the CPER 2021-2027 had been signed on December 1, 2022 by Carole Delga, its mobility component remained in discussions with the State. Who has finally committed, it was announced this Thursday, to invest an amount of 656 million euros, "or 93 million (+ 14 % ) more compared to what was initially planned" was appreciated on the side of the regional majority.

Rail priority

The mobility CPER therefore amounts to a total of 1.56 billion euros, all sources of investment combined, including that of the regional authority to the tune of 508 million euros. 70% of this overall envelope will be dedicated to rail.

The development of regional express services, major structuring projects, the sustainability of the territory's fine service lines (nine lines concerned including Carcassonne-Limoux, Saint-Césaire-Le Grau-du-Roi, or Albi -Rodez), the accessibility of regional stations, and the complementarity of rail and road routes are among the priorities displayed.

A new bike rental service at the station

In addition, a new bicycle plan of one hundred million euros was voted on during this plenary assembly, a sum mobilized until 2028. Which could make it possible, among other things, to create a new bicycle rental service in stations, or to equip parking stations with secure bicycles.

Carole Delga, on this occasion, defended an "essential plan in the carbon-free mobility system that we are putting in place. For the opposition, Julien Sanchez, leader of the National Rally group, deplored "insufficient resources compared to the challenges" . His group, however, voted for this plan "in principle".