DFrequent and on-time trains and metros, rare and quickly dealt with incidents, a large number of staff to inform and support 4 million daily users… The people of the Paris region did not recognize their public transport during the Olympic Games. A period of multiple and recurring malfunctions fueling discontent was miraculously followed by two weeks that thwarted all bad omens.
Not only was the bold gamble of organizing the first Olympic Games that were completely accessible by decarbonized public transport, by bike or on foot, won, not only was the service to the many competition venues scattered throughout Paris and its region smooth, but proof was provided of the network’s and its agents’ ability to ensure, thanks to planned efforts and adapted resources, fast, reliable and even pleasant travel. Better still, the Paris Games gave the joyful spectacle of a large city largely freed, for a time, from the influence and nuisances of car traffic.
L’“exploit” which Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Ile-de-France region, responsible for transport, boasts about, is so obvious, so rare too, that it is imperative to learn lessons from it so that this “enchanted interlude” of the Paris Olympics does not swell the list of ephemeral moments of grace. The millions of daily users of transport in the Ile-de-France region have the right to benefit from the same treatment in transport as the spectators of the Games.
Sustainable recruitment
Certainly, the legacy of “Paris 2024” in terms of transport is important: in addition to the extension of metro lines 14 and RER E, the Games were an opportunity to fill the post-Covid driver shortage – permanent recruitment –, to improve security thanks to better coordination between police services and to speed up procedures in the event of an incident. As for the staff, encouraged by bonuses, they demonstrated a remarkable capacity for mobilisation, which was notably reflected in the disappearance of absenteeism. Not to mention the fantastic showcase for an export sector that the flawless performance of French public transport during the Olympic Games represents.
But the interrupted work will resume on August 12, taking up time for people assigned to maintenance, and therefore to regularity, during the Games, the bonuses will stop and the “purple vests” will disperse. The tremendous success that the elected officials will boast about was only possible because exceptional resources were deployed. And because, even with the Olympic public, the network remains less in demand in the summer.
However, these two weeks of practical and punctual buses, metros and trains cannot be left without a future. The next government must confirm and expand the State’s investments in public transport. The promise made in February 2023 by the then Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, to devote 100 billion euros to rail by 2040 must be reactivated, as must the plan to increase the number of metropolitan RERs; the accessibility of the Paris metro “within ten years” to people with disabilities, which M is danglingme Pécresse, must be financed.
Public transport, a tangible symbol of the respect of public authorities for citizens, is a major political issue. The Olympic Games have demonstrated the possibility of reconciling the French with them. Everything must be done to extend this virtuous circle and provide France with Olympic-class transport.