If for some it no longer makes sense to own a car in the center of Paris, for the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area (MPG), despite its extensive public transport network, it is not always easy to get around without a car. still, Greater Paris also wants to reduce the role of the carand the latest “incentives” largely contribute to this.

In the center of France’s largest urban area with a population of 7.2 million, the number of private vehicles shows a more marked decline, almost 31,000 units less compared to the previous year. This reduction is quite significant when you consider the drop in recent years, as between 2018 and 2022 it was about 7,000 cars per year.

Fewer cars and more infrastructure

The Paris Urban Planning Workshop (Apur) highlights that this downward trend is not uniform across the metropolitan region. It establishes a correlation between the decline in car use and availability of alternatives, such as public transport and cycling infrastructure. While Paris and most neighboring municipalities have seen a decrease in car use, municipalities in the northeast of Seine-Saint-Denis, where access to public transport is below the capital’s average, their fleet has increased over the past five years.
Light commercial vehicles, which account for 13% of the fleet, posted their first drop, posting a 1.7% decline from 6,000 fewer units. On the other hand, heavy goods vehicles and public transport remain relatively stable.

MPG monitors the traffic of the city of Paris

The Apur report highlights the dramatic increase in the number of cars running on alternative energy sources such as electricity, hydrogen, gas and plug-in hybrids. Since 2018, the number of vehicles has more than doubled annually, showing a jump of 325% in half a year. However, despite this rapid growth, they still make up only 5.5% of the city’s fleet, which is dominated by diesel locomotives, whether gasoline (almost 54%) or diesel (almost 41%).
For example, measures taken by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, encourage people to no longer own cars, as she has promised an end to diesel fuel in the capital in 2024 and diesel cars in 2030.

Since then, the plans have changed a bit, the schedule has changed, but the goal remains the same.

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