Paris transport plans recruitment blitz to ease Olympics concerns
France – Paris transport company RATP announced plans on Tuesday to recruit some 5,000 people this year ahead of the Summer Olympic Games. With an extra 600,000 to 800,000 passengers expected on-board, the French capital's already congested public transport system has been repeatedly criticised in the run-up to the Games .
Issued on:
The company plans to recruit 600 new metro station agents before the Games, scheduled for 26 July to 11 August, out of a 900 planned for the whole of the year, according to RATP managing director Jean Castex.
Over 2024, RATP hopes to find 120 new metro drivers and reassign 200 from within the company. On top of that, Castex added, the transport company aims to employ 1,350 new bus drivers.
It is not currently clear how many of these drivers will be ready in time for the Olympics to support the surge in public transport use.
In November last year, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said that despite assurances that Olympic infrastructure would be delivered on time, transport remained a concern, claiming, "There will not be enough trains".
On Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron said that solutions to the Olympic transport challenges were "within reach".
Castex has pledged to make improvements on time.
Ongoing challenges
Accessibility concerns are also predicted to plague metro-use during the Games, with only 3 percent of metro stations accessible for people in wheelchairs, according to a documentary by French television channel TFI.
Plans have already been set to almost double metro tickets during the Olympics to help cover the cost of demand on the network. Single tickets will be sold for €4 and packs of 10 for €32, compared to €2.15 and €17.35 respectively.
Locals have been advised to avoid the surge by bulk buying tickets before the increase.
Earlier this month, Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) transport authority for the Paris region flagged unsatisfactory service on several metro lines.
On Monday, IDFM pointed to "high particle pollution" at three metro stops in the capital in a new air quality map.
Read also:
(with AFP)
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe