‘A question of fiscal balance’: Why won’t transport be free during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris?

It was a promise dating back to 2017, when Paris submitted its bid to host the 2024 Olympics. Public transport was to be free for all ticket holders for Olympic events. As it happened at the Games in London in 2012. But in the end they will not exist, on the contrary…

Île-de-France Mobilités, the organization responsible for transport in the region and headed by Valerie Pecresse, announced on Monday the price list for transport in Île-de-France from July 20 to September 8 during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Prices that caused a number of reactions, in particular the doubling of the price of a metro ticket (4 euros) during this period. However, a Navigo day pass for the entire zone will be cheaper (€16 compared to €20.10). Prices for residents of Ile-de-France will not change, provided that tickets are purchased in advance.

The idea is to get tourists, rather than local residents, to pay for the Games. And in order to encourage people to buy transport tickets in advance to avoid queues at train and metro ticket offices, IDFM explained in essence. We can still argue for a long time about the fair price of transport during these Olympic Games. But first of all, we must remember why the owners of these expensive places for the Games will also have to pay for transport, which was not originally planned. A year ago everything changed.

Saving 45 million for the organizing committee

“Paris 2024 planned to offset the cost of the additional offer for spectators of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Hence the concept of free in the application file,” IDFM explained on Tuesday, then referring to the revision of the Organizing Committee (Cojo) budget for December 2022, which abandoned free transport.

Faced with controversy, Kodjoe responded on Tuesday and confirmed the turnaround, which was decided during a budget review in December 2022 but then went relatively unnoticed. “This was a matter of fiscal balance,” it said. The IDFM compensation, corresponding to the transport tickets of the seat holders, is estimated at 45 million euros. These were additional costs, which also did not have a stimulating effect on the use of public transport, since 100% of trips to the Olympic venues will have to be made by transport. »

IDFM has therefore chosen this “Paris 2024 pass”, the prices of which will be determined on December 7, to partially finance the 225 million euros that public transport will cost during the Olympic Games. The pricing system adopted was praised by the organizers as “it easily allows the viewer to travel to different places, for example from Vere-sur-Marne to the Hôtel de Ville or to the Club de France at La Villette, at a better price than other places.” to the Navigo Day pass.

Always free for accredited people

In its report last summer on the organization of the Olympic Games, the Court of Auditors noted the elimination of free travel for ticket holders, which allowed Cojo’s transport budget to stabilize at 176 million euros despite increases in other costs. costs (in particular inflation and electric vehicle charging stations).

“Free public transport tickets for Games ticket holders constituted one of the obligations in the bid dossier under the agreement signed in June 2017 between IDFM and GIP Paris 2024,” recalls the court report. But the promise remained vague because the application materials “contain nothing explicit on this issue,” the Court also said.

Thus, Cojo was able to go beyond its original commitment by charging viewers for public transportation. On the other hand, accredited people will always be entitled to free public transport with a budget of around 6 million euros.