Bus traffic in Paris and its inner suburbs, very disrupted since last summer, should return to normal “around June” thanks to the recruitment of hundreds of drivers, estimated this Friday, April 7, the CEO of the RATP Jean Castex.
Saturated metros, buses at a standstill, shortage of drivers… nothing is going right at the RATP
“We hope that around June, we will already be back to something that the Ile-de-France residents experienced before the difficulties encountered since last year”said Jean Castex during a visit by the Minister Delegate for Transport, Clément Beaune, to the Saint-Denis driver training center.
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It will not be a return to 100% theoretical supply, he warned journalists: “There’s always 5 to 6% that we can’t do because there’s always work, difficulties along the way… what we call external causes. »
The RATP provided in September “barely 73%” scheduled buses. “We are at almost 89% today”he remarked.
“The quality of life at work must improve”
“We had great difficulties in providing the service, in particular due to a lack of personnel”recognized the boss of the RATP, stressing that“a very significant recruitment plan” was hired, aiming to recruit “at least 2,400 machinists-receivers” This year. “It’s gone well”with already 800 recruitments and 5,000 CVs received, he added.
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“The RATP must go out and go to the population to make itself better known, to explain what the job consists of, by having bus drivers testify (…) so that they can explain their job (…) in particular on social networks »explained Jean Castex, who arrived at the end of November at the head of the Régie.
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“The company itself must be welcoming, attractive, benevolent, the quality of life at work must improve”, he underlined, noting that the RATP has also increased salaries. Drivers are trained in two months, including one to pass the D license.
“We can and we must be proud of our public service”, for his part declared Clément Beaune. The quality of the service of the Paris metros and buses “improved very significantly”he greeted.
