By Jon Glasco.
Montpellier, one of France’s fastest-growing cities and host of one of Europe’s largest pedestrian areas, is setting the standard for urban mobility solutions.
In response to rising public transit demand and the urgent need to reduce emissions and traffic congestion, Montpellier launched ambitious initiatives in the field of urban transport. These include modernizing its tram fleet, leveraging machine learning technology to analyze urban mobility patterns, and improving the cycling network and services. Building on these efforts, Montpellier’s smart strategy also features forward-looking investments to expand tramway lines and bus routes, cementing its role as a leader in sustainable urban transport.
Innovative machine learning for smart mobility in Montpellier
Encouraging multimodal transport and active mobility to reduce car dependence offers recognized health and environmental advantages. To accomplish a planned shift in multimodal usage, Montpellier needs an in-depth view of how people move about the city during their daily activities.
Therefore, the city initiated an experimental project using machine learning technology to provide a data-driven model of urban mobility behavior and preferences. “Based on data exploitation and machine and deep learning—this experiment is already helping the city understand day-to-day mobility,” said Jean Bachmann, MaaS mission and innovative services coordinator at Montpellier.
Mobility Metrix, a firm specializing in machine learning solutions, is working with Montpellier to implement the experimental project. “As a comprehensive mobility data analytics platform, our role in Montpellier’s experimental project focuses on leveraging advanced data collection, integration and analysis to provide actionable insights for urban mobility planning,” said Laurent Briant, CEO of Mobility Metrix. Mobility data challenges his firm is addressing include:
- Data integration from diverse sources, including public transport, cars, traffic sensors and GPS data from mobile phones
- Technological and systemic complexity, requiring advanced algorithms to analyze vast amounts of data about walking, cycling and driving
- Geographic and temporal spatial analysis to understand mobility patterns at the neighborhood level
- Scalability and sustainability to handle increasing data volumes and complexity
“We ensure that data collection and analytics are environmentally sustainable and support the city’s broader goals of reducing carbon emissions. … Through these efforts, we aim to support Montpellier in making informed decisions to improve urban mobility,” said Briant.
A public transit success story
Montpellier’s public transit network, known as TaM (Transports de l’agglomération de Montpellier), provides a foundation—with modern infrastructure and services—for increased usage of multimodal transport services.
Montpellier’s tram system is widely acclaimed for its smart, passenger-centric services and alignment with urban renewal goals. The city’s approach to revitalizing trams as an integral part of its multimodal transport solution stands out as a model of sustainable transit development.
TaM manages the city’s public transportation systems and development of multiple transport modes. Transdev, a private operator, handles the day-to-day transit operations, maintenance and customer service. With high-capacity articulated trams, buses, shuttles and regional trains, the TaM network serves an impressive 100 million passengers annually.
In a recent action, Montpellier submitted a funding application for metropolitan regional express services (Service Express Régional Métropolitain, SERM). The SERM project is a collaborative effort involving Montpellier, other local entities and regional partners. Project planners aim to develop a regional transportation network with express services for residents in Montpellier’s widespread area. SERM’s implementation should improve regional connectivity and reduce travel times by making public transport a more viable option for daily commuters and other passengers.
Line 5 tramway extension
Growth in residential and commercial areas in Montpellier led to an urgent need for better connectivity between the city center and surrounding communities, and a tramway extension aims to bridge this gap. A planned Line 5 is designed to reduce car dependence, facilitate access to the transit network, and enhance the appeal of the city center.
The new extension is part of a wide-ranging vision to create a multimodal network offering seamless transfers and improved accessibility. Providing equitable access to mobility services for all residents, including those in underserved areas, is a major challenge. The extension helps to meet the challenge and enhance social inclusion. To accommodate the city’s population growth, Line 5 should provide additional capacity and connectivity throughout the metropolitan area.
Cycling network initiatives
In recent years, Montpellier improved its cycling network, leading to a notable shift in transportation habits. Montpellier’s cycling initiatives encompass two synchronized initiatives: Vélomagg and Plan Vélo. While both initiatives promote cycling, they have distinct roles in the city’s mobility strategy.
Vélomagg is Montpellier’s bike-sharing service that offers an affordable and convenient option for short-term bike rentals. Service features include subscription options, bike stations throughout the city, electric bikes and integration with public transport.
Plan Vélo is an extensive plan aimed at infrastructure improvements to make cycling a safer, more accessible and convenient mode of transportation. This requires expansion of well-connected cycling paths across the city, with direct routes, few intersections and wide enough to accommodate cargo bikes.
Elisabeth Badinier, editor-in-chief of France Bleu, said the objective of Montpellier’s cycling strategy “has been clear since the beginning of Mayor Michaël Delafosse’s mandate: Residents must stop taking their cars for short trips.”
A bold policy decision
In 2023, Mayor Delafosse made headlines by announcing that Montpellier would become the largest European metropolis to offer free public transport to residents. “By introducing free transport, we are bold in taking a great measure of social justice, of progress, which works for our ecological transition,” said Delafosse in a social media post.
Initial results exceeded the city’s expectations. “In the first quarter of 2024, the ridership of TaM buses and trams increased by 23.7% compared to the same period last year,” city officials report. This signals a favorable shift in mobility behavior and underscores the city’s commitment to citizen-centric mobility. Mayor Delafosse “wishes to make the Montpellier metropolis an exemplary territory of ecological and inclusive transition, a territory that takes care of its inhabitants, to show that another model is possible.”
Overall, Montpellier’s sustainable tranport strategy is designed to create multimode transport services which reduce car dependence and position the city as a leader in urban mobility and sustainability.
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