Hundreds of new bus drivers at RATP. Thanks to very active recruitment in recent weeks, bus traffic in Paris and its inner suburbs, which has been very disrupted since last summer, should return to normal “around June”, RATP CEO Jean Castex estimated on Friday.
In September, the RATP provided “barely 73%” of the planned buses. “We’re almost 89% today,” he noted. “We can and we must be proud of our public service,” declared Clément Beaune. The quality of the Paris metro and bus service “has improved very significantly”, he said.
A significant staff shortage
“We hope that around June, we will already be back to something that Ile-de-France residents have known before the difficulties encountered since last year”, indicated Jean Castex during a visit by the Minister Delegate for Transport, Clément Beaune. , at the driver training center in Saint-Denis. It will not be a return to 100% theoretical supply, he warned journalists: “There is always 5 to 6% that we cannot do because there is always work, difficulties along the way… What are called external causes. »
“We had great difficulties in carrying out the service, in particular due to a lack of personnel”, admitted the boss of the RATP, stressing that “a completely significant recruitment plan” has been initiated, aimed at recruit “at least 2,400 machinists-receivers” this year. “It’s off to a good start”, with already 800 recruitments and 5,000 CVs received, he added.
Restore the image of the RATP
“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. “The company itself must be welcoming, attractive, benevolent, the quality of life at work must improve,” he stressed, noting that the RATP has also increased wages.
Drivers are trained in two months, including one to pass the D license. “We expect a lot from you”, launched Jean Castex to a dozen future drivers, insisting on “the taste for service” and highlighting the possibilities of professional development in the public group.