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Soaring fuel prices see French turning to ride-sharing apps

Spiralling fuel prices are powering a surge in global demand for carpooling, the operator of the French ride-sharing app BlaBlaCar said on Tuesday as it passed the 100-million-global-user mark.

Published: 19 October 2021 17:40 CEST

French ride-sharing app BlaBlaCar now has 1 million members worldwide

Employees of French ride-sharing app BlaBlaCar, pictured in 2015. Photo: Patrick Kovarik/AFP

The Covid-19 pandemic spelt disaster for ride-sharing services but since last month travellers have been turning to BlaBlaCar in unprecedented numbers, the French company told reporters on its 15th anniversary.

BlaBlaCar’s CEO and co-founder Nicolas Brusson linked the surge in demand – between 450,000 and 500,000 new users worldwide per week in September, many of them motorists – to the spiking cost of fuel.

“It’s obviously related to the rise in petrol prices,” he said, adding that the company was growing for the first time since 2019.

READ ALSO When and where to get the cheapest fuel in France

BlaBlaCar, one of France’s first tech unicorns (startups valued at over $1 billion), was at the vanguard of the sharing economy, connects motorists with people needing a lift between cities.

The ‘BlaBla’ in its name refers to an original feature of the app, which saw users specifying how much they wanted to chat on their journey, a feature popular with foreigners wanting to improve their French while on the road.

The company, which employs 700 people, operates in 22 countries.

Unlike Uber, drivers are not professionals, with prices capped so passengers just help them cover their costs.

Brusson did not say how many of its 100 million customers were active users but said 90 percent of the app’s newcomers lived outside of France.

Global energy prices have soared as economies bounce back from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prices of natural gas, oil and coal have all jumped in Europe.

In France, the price of diesel hit a record 1.5583 euros a litre on Monday.

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Thunderstorms, floods and traffic: France’s last holiday weekend in May

Monday, May 20th is a holiday for most of France, marking the Christian festival of Pentecost, which means that many people will enjoy a three-day weekend.

This is the last of four public holidays in France in May 2024, now we need to wait until August for another extra day off work (since the Fête National on July 14th falls on a Sunday this year).

So what can we expect for the long weekend? Well, bad weather and heavy traffic, unfortunately.

The Moselle département, in north-east France, was placed on red weather alert on Friday after hours of heavy rain caused flash flooding.

The red weather alert initially runs until 9pm on Friday, with between 80mm and 100mm of rain expected, while between 70mm and 90mm are predicted in the far north of the neighbouring Bas-Rhin, with up to 70mm expected further south – figures national forecaster Météo-France said approached records for daily rainfall figures in the region.

Orange alerts in the area remain in place on Saturday.

Image: Météo-France

Rain and occasional storms, some bringing hail, are expected to develop across large parts of the country throughout the weekend, with only the Mediterranean areas likely to remain dry on Saturday.

Showers and sunny spells will continue into Sunday and Monday, with occasional thunderstorms in the south-west. Temperatures throughout the weekend should rise to between 15C and 22C.

To make family getaways on the final long weekend of the month even more difficult, roads watchdog Bison Futé predicts ‘difficult’, or ‘very difficult’ travel conditions on key routes across the country.

Image: Bison Fute

On Friday, traffic is expected to be heavy on routes heading away from major cities towards popular holiday destinations until well into the evening – especially on Paris’s Périphérique and the A86 and A6B, the A7, along the Mediterranean Arc and on the Atlantic seaboard (A11, N165 and A63).

The A13 is likely to remain closed to traffic between Paris and Vaucresson across the holiday weekend, so drivers from the Paris region wishing to reach Normandy are advised to take the A14, A15 or N12

On Saturday, May 18th, conditions on the roads will be difficult nationwide, particularly on roads serving the Mediterranean arc (A7 and A9) and the Atlantic coast (A63 and N165). In the Île-de-France region, traffic will be heavy from early morning onwards on the A6 and A10. From mid-morning onwards, traffic is expected to intensify significantly.

Image: Bison Fute

Routes converging on the A10 and A6 could also see traffic problems on Saturday, Bison Futé warned.

No major forecastable traffic problems are expected on Sunday – but, on Monday, May 20th, short breakers will be returning home, leading to heavy traffic across the country, notably on A7 and A9, in the Mediterranean region, and routes serving the west of the country.

Traffic will be heavy on the A10 and A6 in the Île-de-France region from late morning into the evening. The A13, which should be open, could also experience traffic problems from mid-afternoon onwards, and could continue to do so well into the evening.

Across the country banks and public administration offices will close. Some independent shops may close, while larger stores and chains are more likely to be open, but probably with altered opening hours.

Most bars, restaurants and cafés will remain open while public transport will run as normal.

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