clm-da01d6b0d02d15c5
quantitative
free at weekends from 5 September 2020, free all week for under-18s and over-65s from 1 September 2021, and free all week for every resident of the 31 communes from 21 December 2023
Permanent project revision
Fare-Free Transit for Métropole Residents (Pass Gratuité)
Revision 2026-10-05-baseline · effective 2026-10-05
Current revision. This is the snapshot used by the live entity page.
unreviewed
Created the first structured Evidence Passport with 17 claims and 10 source dossiers.
sha256:ee7be920143751039616bbd84f692c70fe1b7ff58cde1c71f4d14e6584ac79d6
Change set
add/evidencePassport— Added claim-level evidence mapping and source dossiers.add/revisionHistory— Established a permanent, hash-addressed baseline revision.
- 17
- of 17 claims mapped
- 10
- source dossiers
- 7
- publication dates recorded
- 1
- archives linked
- 0
- exact locators
- 0
- content captures hashed
Claims, one by one
The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.
clm-f5bd3eacd492a352
descriptive
Free travel is not open — it runs on a personalised register
Sources carrying this claim
clm-7ea42745c016e9ad
descriptive
Residents apply with ID, a passport photo and proof of address, receive a TaM card or a QR code in the M'Ticket app
Sources carrying this claim
clm-3fcf02c191497300
quantitative
must renew every year on their birthday or risk a €72 fine
Sources carrying this claim
clm-6d94f3bc29c9b128
descriptive
visitors and non-residents still buy tickets
Sources carrying this claim
clm-0455196162dc8c53
descriptive
Abolishing validations also removed the operator's own ridership meter, so TaM now counts passengers with cells fitted in every tram and bus instead
Sources carrying this claim
clm-08fbb07aa4e19e16
quantitative
The Métropole reports ridership up 23.7% in Q1 2024 against Q1 2019 — about 5 million extra trips
Sources carrying this claim
clm-5ac8a07c4d9f706f
quantitative
rising to more than 33% after the first full year, which it said would take ridership past 110 million trips against 84 million in 2019
Sources carrying this claim
clm-7ba136feb1d4f9cd
quantitative
358,000 people held a Pass Gratuité by May 2024, against 86,000 paying subscribers before
Sources carrying this claim
clm-1fb83436b77e02e1
quantitative
The Cour des comptes, reviewing the scheme on 28 November 2025
Sources carrying this claim
clm-4b611c9a6391d131
quantitative
put the net rise at about 20% and found 39% of the additional trips had switched from walking, cycling or scooters and 33% from cars or motorbikes, leaving 28% genuinely new
Sources carrying this claim
clm-88f9ae2ccbdbb211
quantitative
fare revenue falling from 37% of operating costs in 2019 to 6% in 2024
Sources carrying this claim
clm-00279ecb7cc52071
quantitative
an estimated cost of free travel — lost fares plus the extra service it requires — of €32M in 2024, rising to a projected €45M a year after 2031
Sources carrying this claim
clm-a65b0366e9f52c86
quantitative
metropolitan transport debt of €518M at end-2023
Sources carrying this claim
clm-ea4168b4cf80d44f
descriptive
The residency test turns a fare system into a register that has to be re-checked every year
Sources carrying this claim
clm-758b42c46b72b82c
quantitative
the 2025-2031 operating contract put to the metropolitan council on 10 December 2024 budgets 409,090 pass files a year at €18.70 each — about €7.65M annually
Sources carrying this claim
clm-3393090c9fcc6687
quantitative
without validations, the Métropole's figure rests on counting cells and the audit court's on its own survey of users and residents, which is part of why the Métropole and the audit court can report 33% and 20% for the same policy
Sources carrying this claim
Source dossiers and revision state
This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.
unreviewed
Revision 2026-10-05-baseline
effective 2026-10-05 · created 2026-10-05
Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.
sha256:ee7be920143751039616bbd84f692c70fe1b7ff58cde1c71f4d14e6584ac79d6
- 17
- of 17 claims mapped
- 10
- source dossiers
- 7
- publication dates recorded
- 1
- archives linked
- 0
- exact locators
- 0
- content captures hashed
Governance facts carried by the record
- Operator
- SPL TaM (Transports de Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole), 100% publicly owned, for Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole
- Actor types
- city-government
- Funding model
- Not recorded
- Funding description
- Versement mobilité payroll levy and metropolitan budget
- Cost
- €32M in 2024 for free travel, counting lost fares and added service; projected €45M a year after 2031 (Cour des comptes)
- Ownership
- Not recorded
- Decision rights
- Not recorded
- Exit conditions
- Not recorded
10 source dossiers
Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole — Gratuité des transports en commun
- Stable source ID
src-b2cab18a6405a615- Publisher
- Name not classified · montpellier.fr
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- Not recorded
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
Official page: the three phases (5 Sept 2020 weekends, 1 Sept 2021 under-18s/over-65s, 21 Dec 2023 all residents), the 31 communes and ~500,000 residents, and the estimated per-household savings. Publishes no ridership figures itself.
- Claims linked
Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole (En Commun) — Gratuité des transports en commun : +23,7 % de fréquentation
- Stable source ID
src-49c6b0d94b7ebe61- Publisher
- Name not classified · encommun.montpellier.fr
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- 2024-05-16
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
16 May 2024, the Métropole's own account: +23.7% Q1 2024 vs Q1 2019, 358,000 pass holders against 86,000 prior subscribers, and the explicit statement that ridership is now measured by on-board counting cells because validation data no longer exists.
Banque des Territoires — Transports en commun gratuits à Montpellier : la fréquentation en hausse
- Stable source ID
src-45eeba75c683e5f0- Publisher
- Name not classified · banquedesterritoires.fr
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- 2024-05-15
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
15 May 2024. Independent confirmation of the +23.7% (≈5 million extra trips) and of the switch from validations to counting cells; also two-thirds of ticket machines removed for €1.5M/year savings, ~€500,000/month still taken from non-resident ticket sales, and €116M of versement mobilité in 2023.
- Claims linked
Cour des comptes — La contribution des usagers au financement des transports collectifs urbains : le cas de Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole
- Stable source ID
src-40f0397a3990c55c- Publisher
- Name not classified · ccomptes.fr
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- 2025-11-28
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- Open archived copy ↗ · 2026-04-26
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
Published 28 November 2025 as the Montpellier case study of a broader enquiry issued 15 September 2025. The independent evaluation this entry's counter-figures come from. Note: ccomptes.fr returned HTTP 503 to automated fetches on 10 Aug 2026; figures were taken from two ideologically opposed outlets quoting the report and agreeing on every number (see the next two sources).
Contrepoints — La gratuité des transports publics à Montpellier : une mesure idéologique et coûteuse
- Stable source ID
src-c6a5d4ce92daa2ee- Publisher
- Name not classified · contrepoints.org
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- 2025-12-18
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
Quotes the report directly: 'une hausse nette de 20% des déplacements', '39%, de la marche, du vélo et de la trottinette, et à 33% de la voiture et de la moto', fare cost recovery 37% (2019) → 6% (2024), 'la dette transport de la métropole atteignait 518 M€ fin 2023', and €32M (2024) / €38M (2026) / €45M a year after 2031. Opinion outlet, used only for the quoted figures.
Le Poing — Montpellier : la Cour des comptes interroge le bilan de la gratuité des transports
- Stable source ID
src-657f80df2bce2876- Publisher
- Name not classified · lepoing.net
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- Not recorded
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
Left-wing local outlet reporting the same report from the opposite political direction, and landing on the same numbers: ~20% ridership rise, €32M shortfall for 2024, fare revenue at 6% of operating costs, €518M transport debt, >€45M/year by 2031. The convergence is why the figures are treated as reliable.
- Claims linked
- Background source; no baseline claim points here
Le Journal Toulousain — Bilan mitigé après un an de gratuité des transports à Montpellier
- Stable source ID
src-5fdf8b85ec0890ba- Publisher
- Name not classified · lejournaltoulousain.fr
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- 2025-01-07
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
One-year review: the Métropole's +33% and >110 million trips vs 84 million in 2019, and the countervailing account from the FO union (crowding, headway cut on line 4 from 8 to 10 minutes, only 100 new TaM hires, all for the new line 5) against the Métropole's claimed 9.4% drop in incivilities.
- Claims linked
TaM — Pass Gratuité, and Ville de Montpellier — how to get it
- Stable source ID
src-d99ca8135899cb2c- Publisher
- Name not classified · montpellier.fr
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- Not recorded
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
The register mechanics: ID + passport photo + proof of address (plus parental authorisation for ages 3-17), delivered as a TaM card or a QR code in the M'Ticket app, annual renewal on the holder's birthday. Also the Métropole's own attributed claim to be 'the largest European metropolis to introduce free public transport for all its inhabitants'.
Tramway de Montpellier — cost of issuing one Pass Gratuité, per the metropolitan council (13 Dec 2024)
- Stable source ID
src-f12b4def7d71ff09- Publisher
- Name not classified · tramwaydemontpellier.net
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- 2024-12-13
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
Quotes the DSP 2025-2031 deliberation ('la délivrance par ses agents d'un Pass gratuité (première demande ou renouvellement annuel) est estimée à 18,70 € TTC'), 409,090 files a year, €7.65M a year. Enthusiast site, but citing a named council document verbatim — used only for figures traceable to that deliberation.
- Claims linked
Tramway de Montpellier — renewing the Pass Gratuité on the holder's birthday, €72 fine (14 Feb 2025)
- Stable source ID
src-5969c0bba82dab97- Publisher
- Name not classified · tramwaydemontpellier.net
- Type / language
- web-page · language not classified
- Published
- 2025-02-14
- Updated
- Not recorded
- Source last checked
- No source-level check date
- Record last verified
- 2026-10-05
- Dossier created
- 2026-10-05
- Retrieved copy
- No local capture recorded
- Archive
- No archived copy linked
- Content hash
- No captured content hash
- Locator
- Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Open the recorded source note
Relays TaM's own 7 Feb 2025 notice: the Pass Gratuité expires on the holder's birthday and must be renewed with a recent proof of address; travelling with an expired pass risks a €72 fine. Enthusiast site quoting the operator.
- Claims linked
Known limits of this file
- Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
- Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
- A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
- The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.