The OCOG knows that the issue of transportation will be crucial to the success of the Paris 2024 Games. It always is. And it will be even more so for an Olympic and Paralympic event where the organizers have chosen, for cost-saving measures, to reduce the fleet of accredited vehicles and prefer the public network. For Anne Hidalgo, the risk is great to see the Games disrupted by social movements in transport with the prospect of opening to competition, January 1, 2025, the bus network of Paris. The mayor of Paris explained it to Elisabeth Borne, the Prime Minister, in a letter consulted by Le Parisien. She asks that “the opening to competition of the bus network be re-examined or, at the very least, postponed well beyond January 1, 2025.” As a reminder, it was decided back in 2009. Anne Hidalgo explains: “As the Games approach, I would like to alert you to the major risks that the implementation of the competitive bidding process for the bus network poses for the transport supply and the organization of this major event. Competitive bidding operations are regularly accompanied by social movements and strikes, further disrupting the transport offer.” It also points out that the change of operator “involves carrying out a number of operations, such as taking over assets assigned to RATP, which will heavily disrupt IDFM (Ile de France Mobilités) and RATP in the preparation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.” With less than 600 days to go before the opening of the Olympic Games, the bus network has been experiencing difficulties on more than 150 lines in the Paris region for several months, largely due to staff shortages. To operate at 100%, it would need to recruit at least 150 drivers.
