RATP assured on Thursday August 22 that the procedures carried out on its buses before their technical inspection were regular, while drivers accuse the public transport company in the Paris region of covering up warning signals.
According to the testimonies collected by the newspaper The Parisiandrivers are given an electronic suitcase with which they can “Clear all warning lights indicating a technical problem on the dashboard before going through the inspection”.
“It is not possible to hide a defect on a bus during a technical inspection”said RATP spokesman Jimmy Brun at a press conference on Thursday. These are “serious and unacceptable allegations against RATP and its bus safety practices”the spokesperson insisted.
“Doubtful manipulation”
According to the RATP, these diagnostic cases are used “in one case only”Buses, which usually travel slowly in the city, sometimes use fast lanes to get to the technical inspection center. “Buses’ pollution control systems can sometimes be ‘overworked’ (…) and may then report that they see more particles passing through than usual. In these cases, an intermittent orange light may come on on the dashboard. The RATP then asks drivers to use the suitcase to take a new measurement and, “Since the bus is now running at normal speed again, the new measurement does not give any indication of a fault and the light goes out”explained Mr. Brun.
According to the testimonies collected by The Parisian, “The on-board computer does not have time to re-enable the alerts” And “According to the drivers interviewed, this dubious manipulation would make it possible to avoid a second inspection, which is mandatory if a warning light is on during the technical inspection”.
“If the fraudulent abuses are proven, they are totally unacceptable” And “RATP must put an end to this immediately and punish the perpetrators”reacted Valérie Pécresse, president of the Ile-de-France region and the Ile-de-France transport union Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), in a post on X Wednesday evening.
Avoid costly downtime
The method would avoid costly downtime and reduced fleet availability, which could lead to potential penalties for the public carrier, the daily claims. The Parisian assures to have “was able to see the operation for himself” in June and July in front of a Val-d’Oise control center welcoming buses circulating within Paris.
The practice would concern “at least half of the twenty or so centres (bus depots) in Paris and the inner suburbs”believes Luc Wallop, former staff representative on the RATP board of directors, presented by the daily as the “whistleblower on this subject”.
“All buses are subject to rigorous maintenance and monitoring”assures the RATP, with a technical inspection “carried out every six months by external centers approved by the departmental prefecture, in accordance with the regulations” on heavy vehicles.
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The article of the Parisian also reports two accidents that took place in 2020. In both cases, “It was shown that RATP buses, vehicles, were not involved in the accidents”according to the company spokesperson. The two employees concerned, who testify against the RATP in the article, “have since been in conflict with the company” And “the links established between these testimonies and the procedures carried out by the RATP in terms of technical control (…) are fallacious”according to Mr. Brun.
The Paris Transport Authority has sent a mission to its general delegate for transport safety, who is due to submit his initial conclusions this weekend to Mme Pécresse, before a more complete report in two weeks.