In France, over 20 million people live in areas with limited access to public transport. The young start-up Ecov has set itself an ambitious mission: to transform the private car into a form of everyday shared transport. Founded in 2014 by Thomas Matagne, Ecov designs and operates carpooling lines on behalf of local authorities. These lines are conceived as public services, with physical stops, passenger information and guaranteed departures – all without the need for booking.

From a user’s perspective, a carpooling line functions much like any other public transport service. The key difference is that available seats are offered by passing cars. Drivers follow their usual routes, naturally passing through designated stops, where they can signal their availability via an app and pick up waiting passengers.

For passengers, the experience is comparable to high-quality public transport: frequent, reliable and no booking required. They head to the nearest stop, request a ride via the app and wait for the next driver to arrive. Once on board, they validate their journey just like on a bus. The result? An average wait time of under four minutes.

Ecov stands out as a unique technological solution serving local authorities, helping to expand the reach of public transport. Beyond software and data science, the start-up designs, deploys, operates and promotes express carpooling lines, often under white-label arrangements and integrated into existing transport networks. Local authorities fund the lines – covering infrastructure, software, operations and more – and support their growth. 

For Ecov, this is a way to build a high-quality transport offering that provides a viable alternative to private car use, especially in low-density areas where frequent buses or trains are not feasible. Today, Ecov operates around 60 lines across 30 territories and employs nearly 100 people.

In 2023, the start-up raised €11.75 million from impact investors such as Banque des Territoires, MAIF Impact, BNP Paribas and ADEME to scale its operations. Field results are promising: on some lines, 80% of passengers were previously solo drivers. A significant number of regular users eventually give up a vehicle, with ‘demotorisation’ rates reaching up to 21%. A multimodal system combining carpooling lines, frequent coach services, and regional trains (TER) could generate societal savings of around €2.4 billion per year, by reducing car travel by 26.5 billion kilometres annually.

For users, the financial benefits are clear: around €1,295 per year for regular passengers, and €780 for drivers.

Ecov has also demonstrated the economic sustainability of its model. Once a line reaches full capacity, the cost of transporting a passenger is less than that of solo car use or even high-quality public transport (under €0.30 per passenger-kilometre). This efficiency opens the door to large-scale deployment.

But success depends on a delicate balance. Ecov is challenging deeply ingrained mobility habits centred around solo car use. As a result, it often takes more than a year for a new line to gain traction, and utilisation can remain fragile without strong local political support. In some rural areas, costs per journey remain high if population density does not support regular use.

Yet, where the system takes root, it proves effective. By breaking down symbolic barriers between infrastructure, services and vehicles, Ecov offers a new vision for everyday mobility – one that is more sustainable, inclusive and focused on the collective good.