the frequency has deteriorated since 2019 on most traces | EUROtoday
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If you are taking the metro in Paris, you will have seen “a further deterioration of service (…) after a slight recovery in spring 2023 » ? This is the observation made at the beginning of December by Valérie Pécresse, the president (Les Républicains) of the Ile-de-France region and Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), in a press release where she ” reminder[ait] at RATP the need to get back on track”.
Major difficulties affected the capital's metropolitan network during the winter of 2022-2023, before an improvement on certain lines in the spring and summer. But new pitfalls arose in the fall.
The reasons are known: RATP is struggling to recruit drivers, even though it had already paused hiring during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the efforts of the public company, it is difficult to make the profession attractive – the end of the special regime for RATP employees in 2023 is undoubtedly not entirely unrelated. It also lacks maintenance specialists, which explains the 20% fewer trains on line 8 for example, and the 10% on line 7.
If, after the confinements, the RATP and IDFM had reduced the frequency – and therefore increased the waiting time between metros –, the objectives have now been raised to the 2019 level of requirements. According to the figures communicated by IDFM, only lines 4, 6 and 14 maintain a slightly lower frequency than before – with a wait of 5 or 10 seconds longer between metros.
However, the frequency observed remains lower than before covid, on most metro lines.
Between January and November 2023, solely 4 traces “have very satisfactory results greater than or equal to the objectives” set by contract between IDFM and RATP for the interval 2021-2024: 5, 11, 1 and 14, the final two being automated. Four others have nearly reached the target: traces 2, 4, 9 and 10.
On the opposite hand, line 12 is having problem regaining an accurate frequency regardless of notable enhancements till the summer season: in November 2023, with a wait of two minutes and 40 seconds between two trains (even worse than in October 2023, with 2'28), she is nearly on the similar degree as a yr in the past. Lines 3, 6 and 13 are “in great difficulty”, with much less 85% punctuality throughout peak hours; on line 3, for instance, the typical wait is greater than 2 minutes in comparison with the anticipated 1 minute and 40 seconds.
https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2024/02/06/metros-parisiens-la-frequence-s-est-degradee-depuis-2019-sur-la-plupart-des-lignes_6207225_4355771.html