what are the consequences for buses in Paris?

While the board of directors of IDF Mobilités approved this Thursday the terms of the opening to competition of the bus network of the capital and the inner suburbs, the process arouses the concern of the unions and some elected officials.

This is an important step, before the launch of the calls for tenders planned within several months. This Thursday, the board of directors of Île-de-France Mobilités, the organizing authority for Ile-de-France transport, validated the terms of the competition for the operation of bus lines in the capital and in the inner suburbs.

The network, now operated by RATP, will be divided into 12 lots. As for the management method, calls for tenders will be made within the framework of public service delegations (DSP), confirms IDF Mobilités, which is piloting the project. “RATP, like other companies, will be able to respond to calls for tenders“, indicates the institution chaired by Valérie Pécresse (LR).

The liberalization of Ile-de-France transport is strongly criticized on the left. The PCF elected representatives of IDF Mobilités thus lament “a historic decision which marks the dismantling of the RATP“.

A petition has also been launched by the group of the communist left at the regional council, which denounces on Twitter a “RATP cut-out sale” and one “downgrading of employees“. According to the petitioncompetition will be synonymous with a network “less efficient“, “less economical“, also with maintenance “cheaper“may cause”more incidents“.

The only lever on which companies will play is the reduction of wages and the deterioration of working conditions

Vincent Gautheron, secretary of the CGT RATP

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The CGT RATP organized last Friday a mobilization before the regional council. Vincent Gautheron, secretary of the trade union, denounces a “very bad choice“. “The opening up to competition was not inevitable, contrary to what some sayhe says. The legal framework allows the management of transport by a regional public authority. Especially since the competition in transport is artificial. The biggest operators are all linked to public players: for example Keolis belongs to the SNCF, and Transdev is a subsidiary of the Caisse des dépôts et consignations.“

Vincent Gautheron, who recalls the long strike of Transdev bus drivers in the Melun conurbation last year, is concerned about the consequences of the process for the 19,000 employees affected by the competition on the bus network in Paris and in the inner suburbs (including 16,000 drivers, according to him): “In transport, 70% of the production price of services is linked to the wage bill. The only lever on which companies will play to make the lowest financial offer and obtain contracts is lower wages and the deterioration of working conditions. It also raises the question of the attractiveness of the profession of driver, with difficulties in recruiting machinists in the future.“

The secretary of the CGT RATP is also particularly concerned about the effects of competition for the continuity of service: “In the event of an incident on a line, for example, how will replacement buses be set up on a competitive network? Operators will not take the initiative unless ordered by the organizing authority. And companies will act on compensation for the costs of the substitute service.“

For its part, IDF Mobilités says “to apply the law“. “Opening up to competition solves an oddity in Île-de-France, you could only go through the RATP, which was in a monopoly situation, argues the organizing authority of Ile-de-France transport. It is about putting public decision-making back at the heart of the system, so that the best company and the best service are selected.“

“The competition for the Île-de-France transport network will allow Île-de-France Mobilités to define precise objectives adapted to each network and to be able to evaluate the operators, with the aim of offering you a better service, whether in terms of transport offer, regularity, cleanliness, or even passenger information..”, asserts the authority, on his website.

Passenger information is however a point that worries the FNAUT (National Federation of Associations of Transport Users) Île-de-France. “In principle, we are not a priori opposed to competition, underlines Michel Babut, vice-president of the association. We are not here on a privatization but on a delegation of public service, IDF Mobilités keeps the hand on the networks and the future operators.“

If two or three operators pass through the same stop, it is not known how the information terminals will be managed

Michel Babut, vice-president of FNAUT IDF

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“But in Paris and the inner suburbs, the competition is likely to be extremely complicated given the density of the network. 12 batches is already a lot, continued Michel Babut. The implementation of passenger information has not been studied. It is now managed by the RATP. Tomorrow IDF Mobilités could coordinate these services… But if two or three operators go through the same stop, with several lines concerned, we do not know how the information terminals, which give the arrival time of the buses, will be managed..”

The opening to competition of Ile-de-France transport has already begun, with more than 1,200 bus lines in the Optile network in the medium and large suburbs. Thursday, the board of directors of IDF Mobilités awarded five lots in this context: three to Keolis, one to Transdev and a last to Lacroix & Savac. Metro, RER, tramway… A timetable was approved by IDF Mobilités at the end of 2020. The process is spread over a period of 20 years for the entire public transport network.

The opening up to competition is the result of a European decision, which dates back to 2007. As far as buses in Paris and the inner suburbs are concerned, the operation of future lots should begin in three years, after the allocation of new markets: the loss of the RATP monopoly is scheduled for January 1, 2025. On the side of user associations, Michel Babut also hopes that the process will “will pass better than in large crown“, whereas “the period of the 2024 Olympic Games will be conducive to strike movements“.

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