Paris – 14 Sep 2017
“BlaBla Boulot Dodo”: This could soon become the new daily motto of millions of commuters in Paris and Ile-de-France, following today’s launch of BlaBlaLines in the region.
Having brought long-distance carpooling (with an average distance of 300 kilometers) to the mainstream, BlaBlaCar unveiled a new application for short daily trips — BlaBlaLines — in May. The service was initially tested on two routes: Reims – Châlons-en-Champagne, and, with the support of VINCI Autoroutes, Toulouse – Montauban
A successful pilot
This pilot enabled BlaBlaLines to learn from users’ first short-distance round trips to improve and further adapt the service according to users’ needs. The trial was successful, with wide adoption of the service: 2,000 short-distance round trips are now published between Reims and Chalons-en-Champagne every week, and 5,000 weekly round trips are offered between Toulouse and Montauban.
BlaBlaLines is now accelerating development and extending the service to all routes surrounding Grand Reims and Toulouse, as well as Ile-de-France and the city of Paris.
A mobility solution that complements public transport
For the 43% of Ile-de-France inhabitants who commute to work by car, BlaBlaLines unlocks considerable daily savings. Commuters share the costs of their journeys, while reducing their ecological footprint and cutting congestion. The service also complements public transport on underserved routes, such as Cergy-Pontoise – Guyancourt or Créteil – Vélizy — all of which are available on BlaBlaLines for €2 to €4.
Mobility figures in the Ile-de-France
- 1.23 million daily trips of more than 10 kilometers by car — 60% of which start from a large ring around Paris
- 1.05: Vehicle occupancy rate
- 68 minutes: Average travel time to and from work (38 minutes in the province)
- 43% of Ile-de-France residents go to work by car, and 42% by public transport
- €2,000: Total saved each year by a commuting employee who lives 30 kilometers from his/her workplace and who carpools daily
Sources: IAU, 2015 – DARES, 2015 – INSEE, 2011
Drivers to receive €10 fuel voucher after their first short-distance carpool
In an effort to encourage people to change their commuting habits and support the development of short-distance carpooling, Total is offering drivers, a €10 fuel voucher following their first ride with a passenger on BlaBlaLines.
Launching the iOS app
The service, initially only available as an Android app, is now also available to iPhone users through a new iOS app.
BlaBlaLines in brief
- The innovative concept of dynamic carpooling “lines”
As soon as one or more drivers are on the same route, a carpooling “line” is automatically activated. The network develops dynamically, adapting to the current popularity of each given route.
This system offers a great deal of freedom to passengers who don’t have to rely on the schedules of their colleagues or neighbours. Users are not obliged to have the same driver to and from work: by searching for a carpool on BlaBlaLines, the passenger connects to all available drivers on that route in a single click.
- No detours for the driver
Meeting points, set automatically by the app, are always on the driver’s route, and are also set to be close to the passenger’s location.
- Simplified route organisation for the driver and passenger
On BlaBlaLines, drivers list their daily commutes all at once. This enables them to accept passenger requests on their route and on their own schedule.
Meanwhile, passengers make their requests on the app, which automatically finds a driver who is already making the same journey at that time and who has accepted the reservation.
“We are delighted with the news of the launch of BlaBlaLines in Paris and in the Ile-de-France region. Paris City Hall promotes and supports all forms of mobility alternative to the possession of an individual car and promotes in particular the practice of daily carpooling. It fits perfectly into the city’s mobility policy that enables to reduce congestion, improve the mobility daily options in Paris as well as reduce the pollution and its effects,” says Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
BlaBlaCar President and Founder Frédéric Mazzella says, “Short-distance carpooling is a sustainable long-term solution for cities, and we are happy to contribute to its development. BlaBlaLines relies on a unprecedented technology, which has the potential to revolutionise our everyday travel habits at a large scale. Easy, fast and very economical, the service we offer has already won over many carpoolers who cannot do without it for their everyday commutes.
“We are thrilled to be offering this technology to Parisians and the people of Ile-de-France. The financial and environmental issues at stake are considerable, and our objective with BlaBlaLines is to provide a relevant robust solution to the current and and massive sub-optimisation of empty cars in our daily travels.”
The expansion of BlaBlaLines is taking place ahead of a new piece of legislation, launching on January 1, 2018, that will will require companies with more than 100 employees to set up a mobility plan.