Design, deployment and operation of 15 express carpool lines, under the M mobility brand, connecting the Voironnais, Grésivaudan, Vercors and Grenoble as part of the introduction of a dedicated carpool lane on the A48 motorway.
The Grenoble Metropolitan Mobility Authority (SMMAG), the Pays Voironnais Community of Municipalities, and the Vercors Community of Municipalities wanted to provide a simple, high-performance mobility solution capable of encouraging solo drivers to switch to carpooling.
The objectives were to:
A European first: M covoit’ Lignes+ is the most ambitious high-frequency carpool network deployed in Europe to date.
Its innovation is twofold: a motorway lane is dedicated to high-occupancy vehicles; the entire mobility strategy has been designed as a seamless, multimodal network.
1️⃣ Step 1: Connecting the Voironnais and Grenoble
In September 2020, a high-frequency carpool network was launched along the A48 corridor between the Pays Voironnais and Grenoble. These reservation-free express carpool lines operate throughout the day and benefit from an 8 km High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane, activated during peak-hour congestion.
The service complements two other forms of carpooling available across the territory:
An additional M covoit’ Lignes+ corridor was subsequently launched between the Grésivaudan Community of Municipalities and the Grenoble metropolitan area, without a dedicated motorway lane.
2️⃣ Step 2: Expansion into the Vercors (2024)
In 2024, the M covoit’ Lignes+ network expanded with the launch of a new line serving the Vercors region. This extension forms part of the continued expansion of the M covoit’ network.
Today, the network comprises 23 stops across 15 express carpool lines.
This ambitious mobility policy has already delivered impressive results:
*In 2023, the average waiting time on the Voironnais and Grésivaudan lines was below three minutes.
SMMAG has developed one of Europe’s most advanced public policies for ensuring that public funding is directed towards the most impactful forms of carpooling.
« The development of M covoit’ is one of the most innovative public mobility policies in our region. It combines technological innovation, with real-time carpool lines fully integrated into the M mobility app, and social innovation, by placing territorial cooperation and solidarity between users at the heart of our strategy to extend public transport services to lower-density areas.
M covoit’ is the public mobility service that supports the regulatory measures limiting private car use, such as dedicated lanes and Low Emission Zones. Our ambition is for every resident to have access, close to home, to a high-performance and environmentally friendly mobility solution.»
Sylvain Laval, President of the Grenoble Metropolitan Mobility Authority (SMMAG)
Grenoble’s public carpooling service: how it works
> France 3 report – September 2020
Grenoble’s public carpooling service officially launched on 21 September. Discover how it works, including routes, user experience and the dedicated motorway lane.
Emilie Faghel, Jean-Paul Bret, Françoise Gerbier and Yann Mongaburu share their vision of M covoit’ Lignes+
