In Paris, checks begin on the carpooling lane on the ring road

Checks on the carpooling lane of the Paris ring road will come into effect from Friday, May 2, with a video ticketing system carrying a fine of 135 euros.

Since March 3 , only vehicles with at least two passengers, public transport, taxis, emergency vehicles and those for people with reduced mobility can circulate on this road, from Monday to Friday, from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

After this "educational" phase, the ten radars set up in the summer of 2024 along this road – which, during the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, was reserved for athletes and official delegations – will be activated to detect people alone in their vehicles, who will be liable to a fine of 135 euros. The system is equipped with a "shape recognition" camera, which distinguishes silhouettes and is capable of differentiating a mannequin from a human, including in a baby seat, said David Belliard, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of transport; but without taking photos of faces, he specified during a press briefing on Tuesday.

"It is not an automatic fine, because it requires the intervention of a municipal police officer" who will verify compliance with the rules, in particular by cross-checking with photos of the license plate, added the Green elected official.

The dedicated lane is intended to combat air pollution and noise for the 550,000 residents living near the ring road. The southern section between Quai d'Issy and Porte de Bercy, about a third of the ring road, is not included in the plan, as it was not previously an Olympic lane.

The measure aims to amplify the effects of the reduction from 70 kilometers per hour (km/h) to 50 km/h on the 35-kilometer ring road that encircles the capital, effective from October ^1, 2024.

Since then, "traffic jams have decreased by 20% to 50%" on Europe's busiest urban motorway, with 1.5 million daily journeys, more than 80% of which are single-occupancy vehicles (without passengers), David Belliard stressed.

Since March, "we have observed a speed difference of 7 to 8 km/h between the [reserved] lane and the other lanes. This means that we drive more smoothly there," argued the Green candidate for the 2026 municipal elections.