The Destinations 2026 mandate plan is an unprecedented €2.55 billion investment plan showing SYTRAL Mobilités’ desire to meet the challenges of the environmental transition, improving air quality for local residents and social cohesion. It aims to strengthen the appeal of mobility services, encouraging as many people as possible to use public transport for their daily journeys and contributing to the development of new structural projects in underserved districts.
To speed up the implementation of this mandate plan, Métropole de Lyon and SYTRAL Mobilités President Bruno Bernard and European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle signed a €750 million finance contract on 3 November in Lyon.
“I welcome this EIB support, which will contribute to the financing of projects such as the creation of new tram and bus lines and the modernisation of our networks. It is also an opportunity for SYTRAL Mobilités to keep up its ambitious pace of rolling stock renewal with the goal of having almost 400 new 100% bio-NGV and electric buses by 2026,” said Métropole de Lyon and SYTRAL Mobilités President Bruno Bernard.
“The EIB — the EU climate bank — is pleased to be able to use this loan to contribute to promoting more sustainable and greener mobility in one of Europe's major cities. Strengthening clean public transport is a powerful method of climate action enabling city residents to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their quality of life,” explained EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.
The investments supported by the €750 million loan will help implement the EIB's priorities in France for sustainable public transport, with the goal of significantly reducing urban disturbances and CO2 emissions.
The EIB financing covers areas including the renewal and expansion of rolling stock fleets on the metro network, the renewal of the bus fleet with zero-emission vehicles, network extensions (metro and tram) and the upgrading of existing infrastructure.
The various upcoming projects — including the creation of new structural lines — will accelerate the development of day-to-day transport services and promote intermodality while offering a real alternative to the private car.
Background information
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its 27 Member States. It backs sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. Since 2019, it has been accelerating its transformation into the EU climate bank with a commitment to devote at least 50% of its financing from 2025 to investments that help combat and mitigate the impact of climate change. In 2021, it had already achieved this target in France, directing two-thirds of its €9.2 billion of investment to projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency of buildings and sustainable transport development.