Roskilde – june 2012
Chartres and its transport
management system
by Isabelle MESNARD
I’m Isabelle Mesnard and my English isn’t
very good yet.
I have been having English lessons but I
haven’t finished them.
However, I’ll try to explain
the transport management
system,
we
have
in
CHARTRES (France).
Bordeaux
Nice
Le Mans
Dijon
Chartres is 86 kms from
Paris and has approximately
42.000 inhabitants.
We have a beautiful and
world famous Cathedral
which brings in many
tourists. So we have to be
very careful with our traffic
management, as it affects
120.000 (one hundred an twenty thousand)
people who live in Chartres
and its suburbs.
I’ll begin today by talking to you about
our 58 buses. They cover 13 routes.
58 buses
We are currently undertaking a program of
accessibility for the handicapped (blind, deaf,
wheelchairs etc…).
There are announcements and digital
screens on all buses, and we are constantly
upgrading bus lanes with raised pavements.
All buses meet European standards for
emissions.
Buses are 80% financed by private
companies, the other 20% coming from
passengers. We also allow the under
eighteens to travel free, giving back 200
euros a year to parents for each child.
In the historic and pedestrian only centre
of Chartres, we have an electric shuttle
bus. This is free to use. The service costs
44.000 euros a year.
We also have a shuttle bus which goes
round the site of the old town walls. This is
free too and is very popular. It prevents
many people from using their cars.
There is an “on demand” adapted 8 seater
mini-bus which works in the town and its
suburbs. Old people and the handicapped
only have to phone and pay a nominal fee.
The Council contributes to the cost of
90.000 euros a year.
Finally, young people living in the countryside
can phone for a mini bus to take them into
Chartres during the school holidays. This is a
free service for the under eighteens.
In 2013, we are going to buy 20 new coaches
for school transport. These will be environment
friendly and adapted for disabled students.
Secondly the railway station
Our current station is very old and hasn’t evolved with the
town.
Ten thousand passengers each day use it, but it is becoming
increasingly difficult.
So, Chartres has launched the “station project” which
consists of a vast and ambitious redevelopment of the station
centre (30 hectares) to make it more modern and to create a
real multi-purpose transport hub for train, bus, bike and car
users.
There will be new roads, new houses and offices as well as an
underground car park for light vehicles and an exchange for
buses and coaches.
The project also includes the creation of a cultural and sporting
centre for hosting shows and matches, which will use the 2.800
place car park during the evening.
So, around the station, pedestrians are the most welcome
group, benefitting from a new urban park as part of the
project.
Bikes, buses and taxis are also encouraged but cars, if
used, are well-hidden !
Thirdly the bicycle
Aiding the rise of the bicycle
and making the town a place
for everybody.
The changes
• Cycle routes
• Lower pavements
• Pedestrians and cyclists sharing lanes
with extra-wide pavements
• 12 kms of green routes along the river
side
• Provision of almost one thousand
bikes-stands in strategic locations
30 kms an hour
speed limits created
in various « one way »
streets, where only
cyclists can ride in
both directions.
« Meeting zones »
with a 20 kms/hour
speed limit, where
cars,
bikes
and
pedestrians can all
travel together.
Projects completed
Bike bus : volunteers collect bikeriding children and escort them en
masse, to where they live, keeping
many cars off the roads.
112 place bike-shed : provided in
front of the station for commuters.
The Cyclo2 : 2 electric rickshaws
take pedestrians around the historic
centre of Chartres. They are free and
can be seen during the school
summer holidays.
Thanks to the idea of a local teacher,
school children now go to their
swimming lesson by bike instead
of on foot. The 25 minutes saved is
spent in the pool.
Town police on bikes : 17 bikes have
been bought for policemen to patrol.
« Chartres à vélo » : an association
created to promote the use of bikes
in the town. With this van many
different areas have been visited.
The « 3Rs » : another association to
renovate, restore and recycle old,
unwanted bikes.
« Town-bike lending » : 50 bikes
were bought to lend for up to a year,
to encourage people to start cycling
again.
Communication
Swing tickets with advice can
be put on the handlebars.
Posters for display in the town :
“Dare to cycle, the means of
transport which makes you smile”
“For the price of 4 full tanks, you
can buy a bike”
Greetings cards.
A biking article per month in
« Your Town » magazine and
a website.
In conclusion
Chartres Metropolitan area, like a
good number of French towns
experiences growing difficulties with
traffic.
The increase in car numbers causes jams, pollution and
noise for local residents. These problems can act as a
brake on economic dynamism because they block access
to shops and services.
An Urban Travel Plan is an appropriate response since it
allows the reduction of car usage in particular, benefitting
less polluting means of transport and more space-saving
vehicles.
The plan is part of a perspective of durable development
for the long term.
Real alternatives to the car are possible in fact, with towns
moving more quickly towards collective transport and more
easily to bikes or walking.
 We will develop other ways of travelling by train,
bus, bike, foot.
 We will reduce car traffic and all its negatives like
pollution and noise.
 We will preserve for the future our environment
and heritage.
Thanks for listening. It only remains for me to invite you
all to see us and watch the « Tour de France » in Chartres
on Saturday, July 21 (twenty first) later this summer.