Overview
- President Nicolas Isnard announced on Thursday that all existing free‑ride arrangements across the 92 communes will be ended and replaced by a social tariff based on income.
- The Métropole estimates ending gratuities will raise about €1.5 million per month (reported around €15 million per year) as part of measures to close a reported €53 million gap in the 2026 budget.
- The change affects Marseille’s recent free fares for seniors and children under 11 and the Pays d’Aubagne scheme that has offered universal free transit to roughly 100,000 residents since 2009.
- Aubagne’s mayor launched a petition and vowed political and legal challenges, collecting thousands of signatures in days and organizing local mobilization against what he calls a unilateral decision.
- The executive says it will keep intercommunal transfers known as DSC and AC at current levels and will present the budget rectification and proposed tariff on 15 October, a vote that requires only a simple majority to pass.