Alexandre JOUAVILLE

Car-sharing makes its mark in Greater Toulouse

By pooling vehicles and reducing car dependency, carsharing is an innovative and virtuous mobility solution that helps to meet environmental challenges and contributes to better urban living. More than 20 years ago, the Citiz network was born, and today it is present in 200 towns and cities, with a fleet of more than 2,000 cars available 24 hours a day. In Occitanie, Citiz offers cars in 45 stations throughout the region (to avoid focusing on the metropolis). France Active has been supporting the structures of this pioneering car-sharing network for many years. 

Alexandre JOUAVILLE, could you briefly describe your organisation?

Citiz is a cooperative offering a fleet of self-service cars in local areas. As a pioneer of car-sharing in France, we promote a vision of mobility that is an alternative to private car ownership. By providing easy access to a car on an occasional basis, Citiz replaces 8 private cars and frees up 3 on-street parking spaces. Our ambition is to develop stations linked to all the sustainable mobility and public transport infrastructures in the region. 

How is commitment at the heart of Citiz’s project?

First of all, we are a Scic, a cooperative society of collective interest where all the stakeholders take decisions together. Citiz is also an ambitious project in the general interest, working to improve the quality of life of our fellow citizens by limiting the number of cars and the amount of parking space in town. Our project also aims to reduce its environmental impact by offering cars with the lowest possible emissions. We also want to give certain households access to a means of individual transport at a lower cost, thanks to a transparent and incentive-based pricing policy (cost of hire per hour, per kilometre, etc.). 

How is commitment at the heart of Citiz’s project?

First of all, we are a Scic, a cooperative society of collective interest where all the stakeholders take decisions together. Citiz is also an ambitious project in the general interest, working to improve the quality of life of our fellow citizens by limiting the number of cars and the amount of parking space in town. Our project also aims to reduce its environmental impact by offering cars with the lowest possible emissions. We also want to give certain households access to a means of individual transport at a lower cost, thanks to a transparent and incentive-based pricing policy (cost of hire per hour, per kilometre, etc.). 

France Active’s perspective

« Citiz benefited from the ISO fund (Investir Solidaire en Occitanie). This fund was co-constructed by MPA Occitanie and other local financiers, notably the Union régionale des Scop and IES (Initiative pour une Économie Solidaire). We work closely with these partner networks, which enable us to identify many committed projects like Citiz.»

Hélène GAUTHIER
Funding coordinator at France Active MPA Occitanie

How does Citiz’s approach fit in with France Active’s vision of commitment?

The Citiz project is strong on all the pillars of commitment: employment, social, territorial, ecological and governance. Citiz has a shared governance model, a large number of members and employs around ten people in Occitanie. Their offer frees up public space, encourages modal shift and reduces pollution. Last but not least, they have a strong coverage of the region, with a presence beyond the major metropolises, giving people access to mobility by car at a lower cost. In fact, we’re very proud to use Citiz to transport our advisers throughout the region.

How do you help entrepreneurs to make their projects more socially useful?

We pay close attention to questions of commitment during annual monitoring campaigns or during refinancing phases. For example, when a major player in the Sociale Economy sector recently raised funds, we didn’t hesitate to ask them about their vision of employment in the context of significant growth.