Paris reserves lane on ‘périphérique’ for car pooling and public transport

From March 3rd, a lane on the Paris ‘périphérique’ will be reserved for carpool cars, security services, and public transport. Only cars with at least two occupants, public transport vehicles (buses and taxis), emergency services, and persons with reduced mobility are allowed to drive in the left lane of the Paris Ring Road.

The rule only applies on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., aiming to combat air and noise pollution for the 155,000 residents living along the ring road. The experiment will also affect part of the A1 and A13 highways.

€135 fine

As of May 1st, after an educational period, offenders of the new rule will risk a €135 fine. Patrick Bloche, first deputy of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, announced the measure last Monday.

The checks will be carried out by video-verbalization: terminals installed along the route will take photos of the vehicle from the front, the back, and the side, allowing the number of passengers to be assessed.

Legacy of the Olympic Games

The reserved lane, presented as a legacy of the Olympic Games, is being set up as part of an ‘experiment’ with no end date, the town hall said. It committed to regularly publishing monitoring indicators, as it did when the maximum speed on the ring road was reduced to 50 km/hour. A similar system was introduced during the Olympic Games 2024, reserving a special lane for athletes and official delegations.

According to the city hall, the ring road inaugurated in 1973 is “the most polluted area in the capital with many ultrafine particles 2 to 2.5 times higher than those observed in urban areas of the capital”.

Less noise and pollution

Since the speed limit was reduced from 70 to 50 km/hour on the ring road on October 1st, traffic jams have decreased by 15%. Accidents have declined by 16%, noise by 2.6 dB, pollution from nitrogen dioxide by 16%, and fine particles by 15%.

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