10/01/2011
Pierre Lascabettes – Head of Transport
Seine-Maritime County Council
A Département (French County Council) leading a regional MIS (Multimodal Information System) project? Could you explain this unusual situation for us?
Since 2005 the County Councils of Seine-Maritime and Eure, and the Upper Normandy Region have together carried out a complete assessment of the issue of travel / mobility in Upper Normandy, and the area’s strengths and weaknesses in this regard. This has allowed us to establish shared, coherent and scheduled transport development objectives, which are still applicable today.
These objectives received the joint political validation of the 3 Authorities. This produced a certain culture of joint development of travel projects, with which all the transport authorities in Upper Normandy quickly became involved. Today, we comprise 15 public bodies (towns, departments and a region) which work together on joint projects including:
- The development of a computer ticketing system unique to the 15 TA (Transport Authorities)
- A hub development policy;
- The Multimodal Information System (MIS);
- Current work in the field of multimodal pricing.
This collaboration between Authorities (intermodality partners) has encouraged the sharing of work between all members, as well as a division of tasks in order to move into these different areas of development in a coordinated manner, at the same time.
So, and completely naturally, the intermodality partners accepted Seine-Maritime as the leader of the regional MIS.
It’s easiest to go by car if you’re making a journey. In your opinion, is the MIS a lasting tool for promoting mobility?
The decentralised nature of the transport services available within an area, provided by many different public transport bodies, is clearly a disincentive to modal shift in favour of PT (Public Transport). In fact, the number of journeys made (work, leisure, etc.) has increased notably over several decades in terms of km travelled, and in many cases go beyond the area of responsibility of a single authority.
This centralisation allows us to conduct a thorough review of all services, and to identify possible complex (multimodal) journeys. This work therefore allows us to ensure that a maximum amount of connections can be guaranteed, with minimum waiting time, thus providing one of the keys for competing with private vehicles.
Mobility within Europe has become a prominent issue. To what extent is the Department of Seine-Maritime involved in this new travel dimension?
By taking part in the START project, in the context of the INTERREG IVB programme, we can share experiences, and have the opportunity to learn and engage in mobility development over an area which extends far beyond national borders.
What has the START project involved in the Department of Seine-Maritime? What are your priorities?
The START project has made an impact in Seine-Maritime through the promotion of the INTEGRA concept, and by raising awareness among local bodies of the value of being included within the network of INTEGRA-approved towns on the dedicated joint web site.
What are the next steps in the concrete implementation of the START initiative?
The next 2 steps to be implemented in the very short term will consist of:
- Continuing to exchange experiences, following the first constructive talks initiated by the working groups on regional MIS;
- Ensure the interoperability of adjacent regional MIS with that of Upper Normandy, which will be launched at the end of 2011.