Mobility competence: how do territories obtain and manage it?

Who can choose to take on the mobility competence?

The LOM law of December 24, 2019 aims to establish a local mobility organizing authority (AOM ), to cover the entire French territory. Until recently, only 3 authorities were de facto AOM:

• The communities ofurban area ;
• Urban communities ;
• Metropolises.

The LOM law therefore encourages communities of communes to exercise this competence and become a local AOM for their territory. If a community of communes decided not to take on this role, the region would be appointed AOM as of July 1, 2021, and it would be difficult to imagine going back.

Why choose mobility competence?

There is no obligation for communities of communes to become local AOMs, however, there are several reasons why they may decide to do so:

• Develop a local mobility strategy Mobility strategy: by managing the competence of mobility, a community of municipalities can take control of its territory's project and orientate decisions according to it. This is an opportunity to build a project in conjunction with other public policies, and thus take into account several aspects (economic, energy, environmental, social, etc.);
• To become a legitimate player, and well identified within thelocal mobility ecosystem;
• To propose mobility solutions that take into account the reality of the territory in terms of travel needs, and thus act in favor of the recommendations of the LOM law;
• Organize and support the services of one's choice, in connection with the mobility service offers already present in the territory, whether they are public or private.

Mobility competence: the different means of action

Each local AOM is free to exercise its mobility competence as it sees fit, choosing to organize services according to the mobility needs of its territory. The community of municipalities AOM must then develop a local mobility strategy, and is helped by different possible levers of action. The simplified mobility plan is a tool that can guide the implementation of this strategy, such as the organization of transport services, financial or technical contribution to the development of projects, or information and individualized mobilitysupport .

The local AOM must also surround itself with local actors, and federate them, to communicate on its mobility policy, but also to obtain their opinions on possible improvements to the service offers, and thus better meet the needs of users.

Finally, the community of municipalities with mobility responsibilities must establish itself as a major player in the local mobility ecosystem. To facilitate coordination between the AOMs, the LOM law provides for an additional tool: the operational mobility contract at the mobility basin level. This aims to bring together the AOMs of the same catchment area (itself defined by the regional council) and the various mobility stakeholders, to develop and disseminate the actions implemented.

How to organize the management of mobility skills?

The decision to take over mobility jurisdiction does not commit the local AOM to implementing a strategy as of July 1, 2021. Things must be done with thought and hindsight.

To be aware of the territory and the services already in place

Before developing any strategy, it is essential to know your territory and to estimate the needs of users as closely as possible. To get an accurate account, several elements can contribute to the analysis of mobility needs in the territory:

• Census data (e.g., on the movement of residents);
• Planning data;
• Mobilization of local actors;
• Local surveys directly with the public concerned;
• The services already put in place by the communities (trains, shuttles, carpooling platforms, bicycle paths, etc.);
• Private services set up (carpooling, carsharing, Demand-Responsive Transport...).

Identify mobility issues in the territory

From one community of communes to another, the challenges of mobility will be different. They may concern different aspects:

• Accessibility of the fragile and vulnerable, and maintenance of the social link;
• The articulation of the different modes of transport, and in particular the services put in place to enable feeder services to transport infrastructures that connect the territory with agglomerations that have a regular and daily network and flow;
• Preservation of the environment and air quality;
• Contributing to projects undertaken by other actors, either financially or technically, particularly in terms of shared mobility, active mobility and solidarity mobility.

Develop services adapted to the territory

Clearly stating the mobility challenges enables the local AOM to target the services to be developed to meet the specific needs of its territory. This can result in the organization of public transport services, solidarity mobility (Demand-Responsive Transport), active mobility (bicycle rental), shared mobility (car sharing), or even freight transport and logistics.

This can also take the form of anindividualized mobility advice andsupport service , particularly for vulnerable people, or for employers and business parks that wish to facilitate the ride home-to-work of their employees.

Mobilize financial levers available to communities of communes

In order to help local AOMs in the implementation of their projects, several financial levers are possible:

• Mobility payment for the organization of regular services;
• State support mechanisms (DSIL, CPER, DTER, DPV and TDIL);
• Thematic calls for projects and expressions of interest ;
• The "energy saving certificate" programs;
• The financing offers of the Banque des territoires.

The Demand-Responsive Transport service (DRT) proposed by Padam Mobility is therefore in line with many local AOM projects, as it allows for theexpansion of the transport offer by focusing on the needs of users.