Thursday, January 19 will be a dark day in public transport in Île-de-France. A social movement by the RATP will disrupt travel to and from Paris, but also in the capital itself. Alternatives emerge to circulate anyway.
RATP announced it Wednesday January 18: Thursday January 19 will be marked by a major social movement. Consequently, the Autonomous Paris Transport Authority warns: traffic will be “ disturbed », sometimes strongly, on the RER and Metro networks, but also in buses and trams. The still functional lines promise to be saturated.
Which apps to follow the strike?
For people who have to use public transport affected by the social movement, the first need will be to find out what is circulating and to know how the situation is changing over the day.
To do this, you can download the SNCF and RATP applications to your smartphone. They give line-by-line details, particularly in terms of timetables. These Android and iOS compatible applications are easily accessible on the respective Google and Apple stores. Another possibility: SNCF and RATP animate accounts on Twitter, each dedicated to a line.
You can also fall back on the websites of both companies. The SNCF has a page to track traffic in Île-de-France, but also at the level of TER and main lines. Same thing for the RATP, with a general bulletin and specific information (RER, metro, tramway, bus and Transilien). The RATP has also review the situation line by line.
Third-party apps provide an equivalent service. We think of Citymapper (on android and iOS), which also has the possibility of generating alternative routes taking into account the disruptions that may occur (incident, strike, etc.). The software grinds its proposals by including buses, the metro, the RER, the Transilien, bicycles, taxis, scooters, scooters, trams and carpooling.
Transport affected by the strike
Will be neutralized subways 8, 10 and 11. Lines 2, 3, 3 bis, 4, 5, 6, 7 bis, 7, 9, 12 and 13 will also be interrupted at off-peak hours, but will run a little at peak hours (with runs ranging from from one train in two to one train in five, over all or part of the route). Only metros 1 and 14 will be fully operational, because they are automated, but maximum traffic is expected in the trains.
On the side of trams, the situation will also be difficult: lines T1, T3a and T5 will have four trains out of five, three out of four and one out of two respectively. Regarding lines T2, T3b, T7, it will be two out of three trains. Here too, traffic will be interrupted at off-peak hours. The bus will be in a roughly similar situation, with two out of three buses on the entire network.
As to REReverything will depend on the line taken: the two traffic lanes managed by the RATP (A and B) will see one out of two RERs at peak times and one out of three (RER A or four (RER B) at off-peak times. The RERs operated by SNCF (lines C, D and E) as well as the Transilien are also affected by the strike. Beware of crowds there again, especially on the sections in Paris.
Faced with these traffic difficulties, teleworking offers a way of avoiding transport problems. For the others, the day will be very complicated. There are alternative means of transport to combine Paris or move between the districts if you are already in the capital. But there too, the road should be congested. Starting with the device.
You are outside of Paris
If you live outside of Paris, the first difficulty will be to get to the capital. The last will be to go home. Different means of transport can be used:
- RER : lines A, B, C, D and E will be partially functional during the day, unless an external incident is added to the social movement.
- Transilien : same situation for the Transilien lines. Lines T4, T11, T13 will have normal traffic. Lines H, L, U, N will have little traffic. Everything will be almost at a standstill on lines J, K and P. On line R, nothing will circulate.
- Individual car : you can come to Paris with your own vehicle. There are parking networks to have a parking space for the day (Onepark, Indigo Neo, Parkadom, Parkmatch and ZenPark), but all of them may be overrun.
- Carpooling : it is also possible to go through a carpooling service, where you will not have to worry about parking the vehicle. The RATP also offers several services here (BlaBlaCar Daily, Citygo, Clem’, Covoit’Ici, Karos, Klaxit, Ouihop and Roulez Malin)
- VTC : Finally, there are transport vehicles with driver, such as AlloCab, Kapten, LeCab, Marcel and Uber.
You are already in Paris
If you were able to reach Paris or were already there, it will now move between the arrondissements. You can mobilize the solutions mentioned above. You can also use your legs and go on long walks. Here are your options:
- Subway : lines 1 and 14 are not touched, but will be loaded. All the others will circulate with fewer frequencies.
- Bus : two out of three buses are planned for the entire network.
- Scooter : self-service electric scooters can be requested, like Cityscoot.
- Scooter : self-service electric scooters (free-floating) are not yet prohibited in Paris, you can fall back on one of the operators. Or, use yours.
- Bike : you also have self-service bike offers, such as the vélib’.
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