In France, the versement transport (abbreviated VT) is a hypothecated urban regional payroll tax levied on the total gross salaries of all employees of companies of more than 11 employees,[1] originally intended to raise capital for investment in local public transport infrastructure, but more and more used to cover its operating expenses.
The STIF distributed the money between the Régie autonome des transports parisiens (RATP, the metropolitan transport authority), the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF, the state railway operator) and the Optile group (private companies that operate bus lines in the suburbs).
The money is directed to the local autorité organisatrice de transport urbain.
Between 1975 and 1982, the minimum population being fixed at 100,000 may have played a decisive part in the creation of AOTs encompassing several smaller communes, and in the extension of "périmètres de transport urbain" (PTUs, "Urban Transport limits", i.e. essentially the edges of fare zones).
The VT rate is variable depending on the size of the population in the PTU.