Who says deconfinement says gradual resumption of public transport. If Edouard Philippe must detail his plan to get out of confinement, this Tuesday in front of the National Assembly, notably concerning transport, social distancing measures are likely to be complicated to apply in trains, metros and buses.
Transport operators hope that the wearing of the mask, recommended by the Scientific Council, will be able to free them from the rules of distancing when passengers return to the lines at the end of confinement.
A mask to lift the rules of social distancing
SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou was one of the first to pose the problem publicly, during a hearing in the Senate on April 15. In Ile-de-France suburban trains for example, "if we are forced to put a meter or a meter and a half between each passenger, with 100% of the trains we only transport 20% of what we transport usually ... So it doesn't work! Keeping your distance in a metro, tram or bus reduces the maximum capacity by 60 to 80%, according to the different players who have spoken on the issue since.
A challenge, when the French are expected to return to work or shops from May 11. Especially since public transport, often overloaded in normal times, will not yet operate at full speed. Jean-Pierre Farandou therefore argued that the obligation to wear a mask could lift the distance rules on board. "It will require medical advice to confirm it," he noted before the senators, which would not prevent "strengthening the application of barrier rules to completely secure the device." And of course to carefully disinfect vehicles and stations.
A detailed plan unveiled Tuesday by Edouard Philippe
His opinion is shared by the entire profession. "The compulsory wearing of the mask in a shared public space would thus come as a clear and logical replacement for everyone to the rule of social distancing", wrote in a joint letter to the Prime Minister the federation of operators UTP, RATP, SNCF , Transdev, Keolis and the association of independent transporters Agir.
Opting for the wearing of the compulsory mask “without any restrictive measure of social distancing between travelers seems to us the fundamental condition for a successful exit from confinement. Otherwise, we fear a potential chaos ”, they insisted. Wearing a mask will be "probably" compulsory in public transport, the Elysée already said before Edouard Philippe even detailed the government's deconfinement plan, Tuesday afternoon at the National Assembly.
The mask, useless without social distancing
But wearing a mask cannot free you from distancing yourself, according to the Scientific Council. “The principle is to respect the minimum distances to avoid respiratory contamination and carried by droplets. This principle must be respected in all public places, shops and public transport, "he wrote in his opinion released to the public on Saturday. “Failure to respect the rules of physical distance of one meter on each side, whether users wear a protective mask or not, constitutes an important vector for the transmission of the virus, both in terms of speed and volume. , which could lead to an uncontrollable resumption of the epidemic, "he added.
Not without putting forward a certain number of questions: how to enforce this distancing, if it is decided? Should people be filtered at the entrance to trains and stations, at the risk of crowding them onto a platform or sidewalk? Can we stop someone from getting on a bus? With also, whatever the decision of the government, the impression that the opinion of the Scientific Council will not help public transport to overcome the fear of promiscuity in the population as long as the virus continues to circulate. And many French people should choose to take the wheel, despite pollution and traffic jams.
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