Photo of bus 152 during confinement, published on the Facebook page of the CGT RATP Bus Flanders. - CGT RATP

  • Posted on the Facebook page of the CGT RATP, a photo showing a bus on line 152 crowded early in the morning scandalized internet users.
  • Other photographs of similar situations circulate everywhere on social networks.
  • A few days before the start of the deconfinement, RATP employees are worried about the risks they run and the impossibility of enforcing social distancing measures

A photo posted on Facebook, on the “CGT RATP Bus Flanders” group, and shared almost 1,000 times, made users react a lot. We see a crowded bus circulating in Ile-de-France during confinement with this comment: "Bus 152 Blanc-Mesnil -> La Villette this morning 5.30 am: these are the criminal conditions in which workers of the 93 travel! Imagine May 11! Reminder: masks do not replace safety distances! What does RATP do? "

FAKE OFF

Contacted by 20 Minutes to assess the veracity of this photograph, this antenna of the CGT RATP agreed to provide us with the metadata for the photograph. This was indeed taken on April 21 at 5:45 a.m. "On a lot of suburban bus lines, the photo corresponds to a daily reality," explains Cemil Kaygisiz, CGT union representative at RATP. Colleagues are asked to send us photos of situations they find abnormal and we identify them. When we post photos, we check if it's not a fake. There is no point in spreading false photos. "

To support his point, he sent us other shots showing similar situations, mainly in Seine-Saint-Denis where a large part of the population cannot telework and must go to the capital daily to continue doing turn essential activities. This situation challenges internet users in anticipation of the deconfinement announced on May 11, in particular on the issue of social distancing, which is obviously already impossible to respect in certain departments of Ile-de-France.

Yesterday with #confinement watch how the buses are crowded in the suburbs with people coming home from work, imagine from # 11May ... Imagine line 13 of # metro in full epidemic ... It's unacceptable! # ConfinementJour36 #COVID ー 19 #Macron #Strasbourg pic.twitter.com/N6IXkSX8c8

- Charlotte Richard (@ Ch_Richard20) April 21, 2020

Not only internet users, by the way. “The 152 is packed at 5.30 am and we are still in confinement. What will it be then from May 11? "Wonders Ahmed Berrahal, bus driver and CGT union representative.

For him, the objective of respecting social distancing in public transport in Ile-de-France is a pipe dream or mild naivety: "I don't see how to tell users to stay within a meter or two each other. They're tight like sardines, how do we do it? "

On this point, the president of the RATP can only agree. Invited to France Inter this Friday, Catherine Guillouard was straight to the point:  “  It is absolutely not a question of profitability, it is a question of feasibility. If we had to apply social distancing, it's simple, we could only produce two million trips per day, ”she announced.

However, the objective set for the RATP by the government with a view to deconfinement is that of returning to traffic equivalent to 70% of traffic in normal times, or approximately 8 million journeys per day (against 12 million usually). If social distancing seems impossible to enforce, the management of RATP wants masks to be mandatory for all users from May 11.

Unions denounce serious breaches

If "everything is not perfect", the RATP tries to "react accordingly whenever there is a malfunction and adapt the offer by putting more buses in circulation", underlines the communication service of the transport operator. “For that again, we would have to find drivers to drive them!” Replies Ahmed Berrahal. We have drivers on lines 152 or 133, they are fathers of families and they refuse to return to work. Some will exercise their right of withdrawal, others remain on sick leave. "According to Catherine Guillouard," 8,500 employees are still on sick leave or in childcare "out of a total of more than 60,000.

“  Their fear, in addition to being contaminated, engages Cemyl Kaygisiz, it is to bring the virus home. That's the big worry right now. Especially since we fear the arrival of a second wave of contagion linked to this gradual deconfinement and the return of heavy traffic in Ile-de-France. "

The issue of bus disinfection

In accordance with the demands of the labor inspectorate, and in an attempt to best protect and reassure its employees, on the front line against the virus, the RATP ensures that all hygienic measures have been taken from the start of the health crisis . "There is no bus leaving the warehouse if it has not been cleaned and disinfected beforehand," says the company. We systematized the anti-aggression glass to protect the drivers, the climb can no longer be done from the front and we marked the front of the bus to isolate the drivers. We also provided kits with wipes, hydroalcoholic gel and masks. "

But another bell is given by Ahmed Berrahal: "In addition to a stock of defective masks that we received recently and whose elastics come off at the slightest movement, we also found a lack of equipment and materials , so much so that some drivers bring their own product home. All they find: bleach, lemon Paic. They understand that there is not enough staff to clean an entire park, so everyone adapts as best they can. We are there… ”.

“Every day, we fight a battle against the RATP concerning the disinfection and cleaning of buses and subways. The RATP is ten trains behind on this subject ”, supports his union colleague. As such, a complaint for "endangering the lives of others" is being prepared by the lawyer for the CGT RATP, assures Cemil Kaygisiz.

"Today, it's risky to take public transport"

Authorized by his mandate to inspect the deposits, Ahmed Berrahal explains to us that he was forced to alert the labor inspectorate several times to find out the shortcomings. “We brought the inspectors to Villejuif to show them the conditions under which the cleaning subcontracting boxes worked. They saw people cleaning the buses in total darkness since they are not authorized to put the lights in, they are not allowed to touch the controls of the bus. Imagine disinfecting your kitchen in total darkness, it's going to be carnage! "

🚇 Line 13 of the Paris metro remains crowded, the safety distances are difficult to be respected.

💬 "If the virus spreads significantly in public transport, patients will die." # Confinementjour38 # covid19 #ratp pic.twitter.com/S6SA2vH4Jc

- Info France 2 (@ infofrance2) April 23, 2020

In a report broadcast on France 2 this Thursday, we see that the situation is at least as worrying on certain metro lines like the 13, which links the Seine-Saint-Denis to the center of Paris. In the corridors of this line either, social distancing is absolutely not respected. “We doubled the passage of cleaning teams, we also went from 1,300 cleaning agents to 1,700 (+ 30%), with particular care given to the contact areas (grab bars, push buttons), ensures the RATP. Finally, concerning the buses, these now mark the stop at each station so that people no longer have to press the button to request the descent. "

The public operator ensures that it responds as best as possible to orders from the State with a view to deconfinement, but if it tries to put in place common sense measures, this seems very ridiculous to really prevent transport from being a major vector of spread of the virus. “Today, it is risky to take public transport. We are the first carriers of Covid-19 in Ile-de-France, it is unfortunate to say but it is the truth ", concludes Ahmed Berrahal.

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  • Paris
  • Covid 19
  • RATP
  • Public transport
  • Society
  • Coronavirus
  • Deconfinement