According to estimates made by BlaBlaCar, the famous carpooling platform, the places offered have increased by 20% this summer compared to last year in the Centre-Val-de-Loire region. About 230,000 seats should have been counted over the summer period (June/July/August) against 190,000 during the summer of 2021. BlaBlaCar even notes a 50% increase in bookings from the city of Tours. Rising fuel prices have strongly contributed to this increase in recent months.
Even seniors are getting into it!
On the main carpooling area in Tours, at the drop-off point near the station, rue Edouard Vaillant, the cars parade continuously from 9am in the morning. Marine has managed to find a route that can take her to her vacation spot in Courtenay, in Loiret. “I find it more fun after traveling with other people to get to know each other. The journey goes faster.” Over 60% of platform users are under 30but more and more people are signing up, including seniors!
30 to 40 euros on average for the train
Claude and her husband Dominique gladly welcome Marine on board. “We still had room in the car. Some people are arranged so that they can travel at a lower cost. And then for us, it also allows us to be a little compensated“, indicates Claude. The sexagenarian couple will drive to Etreval, in the Vosges, after having dropped off Marine in Courtenay.
For Aline, it’s already the end of the holidays. After a few days in Touraine, she goes back to Paris. Between the train or the Blablacar app, she didn’t hesitate. “We travel in a personal car. We have fewer people.” For a round trip from Tours to Paris by train, it takes between 30 and 40 euros on average. In BlaBlaCar, the trip is a little longer, but the prices rarely exceed 25 euros. The train generally remains the means of transport the fastest, and also the most ecological, but many users appreciate the user-friendliness of carpooling and the variety of trip offers.