Combined transport assistance

The so-called "gripper aid" is an aid to the operation of regular combined transport services.

It consists of a flat-rate subsidy per Intermodal Transport Unit transhipped at a terminal located on mainland France, open to any operator (or broker) of combined transport between road and non-road modes (rail, river, short-distance maritime), accompanied by pre/post road transport. The aid is reserved for services with a distance of at least 80 kilometers. Except for waste transport and urban distribution. This minimum distance criterion is however optional for aid likely to be granted by local authorities or other public bodies.

The amount of aid is now calculated not on the basis of traffic carried out in year n of payment, but on that of traffic carried out in year n-1. The beneficiary therefore experiences a gap between the achievement of the operator's commercial objectives and the receipt of aid on traffic actually carried out. Thus, in 2019, the aid paid was applied to 2018 traffic.

For more information regarding the launch of the call for expressions of interest
for the period 2018 - 2022 and aid for the operation of regular combined transport services for the year 2018, you can refer to the website of the Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition dedicated to this system.