The application, which had almost 4,000 subscribers at the end of August, is proving to be an effective solution not only in the face of unprecedented increases in fuel prices, but also in the face of climate catastrophe.
Klaxit claims to be the French leader in commuter ridesharing. The application, launched two years ago in the Principality under the joint leadership of the Digital Services Department, the Energy Transition Mission and the Future Studies, Urban Planning and Mobility Department, allows passengers and drivers to make a free journey earning a small fee (from 1.5 to 3 € per passenger, depending on the distance travelled).
Convincing arguments for many people, especially at a time when prices at the pump are exploding and the climate emergency is becoming more and more urgent. The numbers speak for themselves. About 1,000 trips per month were made in the first year, compared to 2,000 per week in the last few months. Not surprisingly, Nice is the most popular origin and destination (42% overall), closely followed by Italy.
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Companies are also benefiting from the growth in carpooling, in particular the 35 partners of the project such as CHPG, SBM and the Monaco Cardio-Thoracic Center (CCM). “Carpooling reduces stress and allows workers to socialize with other employees within the company and/or principality, which is helpful in the wake of the pandemic,” notes a CCM representative.
Goal: Return to the traffic volume of the 1990s
The federal government is also involved. With a third of the principality’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from transport, it’s easy to see why the executive is working so hard to reduce the number of cars in Monaco. Any trip made through the application that starts or ends in Monaco is subsidized, representing an investment of over €300,000 for the state since launch.
Travel and mobility are at the heart of the government’s strategy, which aims to reduce light vehicle traffic by around 20% by 2030 compared to 2019 figures. Achieving this goal would bring traffic levels back to 1990s levels.
With Klaxit we are going in the right direction, although some improvements are still needed, in particular to solve connectivity problems with the Bouygues Télécom, Free and Orange networks. Subject to an agreement between Monaco Telecom and these operators, free WiFi is available in Monaco, for example near bus stops.
