A safer return to school for the RATP? In an interview given to our colleagues from Parisian this Monday, Valérie Pécresse, president of Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) makes an inventory of transport in the region. In addition to the new equipment, recruitment and cash flow difficulties suffered by IDFM, the president announced an important measure for the safety of passengers and in particular that of women.
“From September 1, buses operated by the RATP will gradually practice descent on demand after 10 p.m. throughout Paris. This device, which allows passengers to ask to get off between two bus stops, aims to enhance user safety by bringing them closer to their destination, for example their home, and thus avoiding excessively long journeys on foot.
Already available in large crown
Experimented since 2018, first on eleven Seine-Saint-Denis and Seine-et-Marne lines, the system had been extended and made permanent on 70 lines in the outer suburbs before appearing on five regular lines in Paris and its small crown and four Noctilien lines in April 2022.
If it is enough to signal an anticipated descent to the driver, from the front only, it is however necessary to make his request at least one stop in advance. For security reasons, it is the driver, himself, who will decide the precise point of the descent, for user safety: “As close as possible to your destination, but also well lit, with good visibility and a nearby pedestrian path. »
But also for road safety since “certain areas, identified, do not allow the descent between two stops such as the proximity of a parking area, a cycle path or even a crossroads. In fact, on certain sections of line and as a safety measure, the descent will not be possible”, indicates RATP on its website.