Should we fear a congestion of public transport around 5 pm?
This is one of the fears in Ile-de-France with the introduction of the curfew at 6 p.m., since Saturday, to fight against the Covid-19 epidemic.
Since the start of 2021, passenger traffic has peaked at 50% of normal.
Ile-de-France Mobilités is considering a possible reinforcement of the service by 30% from 3:30 p.m., depending on needs, to avoid overloaded trains and subways.
User associations, the RATP and the SNCF are in the process of analyzing possible “points of tension” on certain lines and stations.
Reportage.
It is 5.30 p.m. on metro line 5.
In the train traveling to Gare du Nord, almost all the seats are occupied.
The attendance always seems modest for a rush hour.
Arrived on the platform of the Gare du Nord, the passengers rush onto the escalator, with a hurry.
Vanessa, a large suitcase in her hand, stands near the porticoes.
She's a little nervous.
“I'm expecting my aunt but she's late.
We're going to Villepinte.
We don't have a certificate and I hope we won't be checked ”.
"We have to leave an hour earlier"
Near the stairs leading to the RER, Cynthia, accompanied by her three children, has no time to waste either.
“My two daughters go to school in the 18th arrondissement and we live in Hauts-de-Seine.
With the curfew, we have to leave an hour earlier than usual.
They don't have time to have a snack at school anymore, ”she says.
Direction line 4. It is 5:50 pm.
A compact crowd circulates in the wide corridor.
And yet, in the trains, it is far from complete.
"I don't see much difference compared to usual… Smoldering or not, it doesn't change my pace too much.
I have a certificate anyway, ”explains Louis, who works in a business in central Paris.
Like Louis, many travelers, duly provided with a certificate, continue to travel after 6.30 p.m.
This is the case for employees of the station shops.
“Our peak of activity is usually between 5 pm and 6 pm,” says Julie, a clothing saleswoman.
Then, we leave the premises around 6.30 p.m.
We open earlier in the morning, at 7:30 a.m.
But during the day our customers are fewer, that's for sure ”.
It is almost 7 p.m.
The spaces of the station are sparse.
The curfew can really begin.
