Valérie Pécresse, president of Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the transport organizing authority, was moved on Wednesday in Paris Match.
"We have not succeeded in putting people back into telework," she laments.
Proof in its support, the use of public transport in Ile-de-France has fallen "only" by 12% compared to the previous week and the introduction of new "braking measures" against the Covid-19 epidemic.
This still represents 500,000 people less each day in public transport.
But this fall is much less clear than during the other two confinements, in the spring and then in the fall of 2020.
Last year, the first wave and all the uncertainties of the start of the pandemic had almost entirely emptied the Ile-de-France network, with a 90% or even 95% drop in attendance in March and April!
Passengers gradually returned until September 2020, with 35 to 40% of passengers missing every day on the metro, RER, bus and tram networks.
The second confinement - from the end of October to December - once again caused the number of passengers to plunge.
65 to 70% of travelers deserted the docks in November.
And since December, attendance has failed to climb.
Ile-de-France Mobilités still recorded only 53% to 54% of its usual attendance at the beginning of March.
At the end of March, the decline is therefore, this time, only limited.
Sign that this third confinement, designed to "slow down without locking up", according to the terms of the government, has less effects on the movements of Ile-de-France residents.
More than a billion euros in losses for IDFM
The scene has become commonplace today.
This Thursday morning, 11 am on line 13, Place-de-Clichy station, almost all travelers have found a seat in the train.
At first glance, metro use resembles that observed for several months of health crisis, without having fallen dramatically either since the introduction of "braking measures" last Saturday (closure of non-essential shops).
And as Babeth, a retiree and regular RER user, says, “we got used to it.
No one will be able to bear to find the conditions of transport during peak hours before the crisis.
No one will accept it any more.
"
This new desertion accentuates the uncertainties about the financing of transport in the Ile-de-France region.
Ile-de-France Mobilités was counting on at least 70% of attendance this year to limit its financial losses to one billion euros.
We are very far from that.
“It was last November, the vaccines were coming, we thought we could get by,” explains Laurent Probst, Managing Director of Ile-de-France Mobilités.
For now, it is too early, there are too many uncertainties to be able to make any new predictions.
"IDFM and the State have made an appointment rather with the approach of summer to" see more clearly on the situation 2021 ".
No change in the transport offer for the moment
Given the context, Ile-de-France Mobilités has no plans to modify the transport offer immediately.
"At this stage, nothing changes, and we will actually see what new habits will be taken during this new confinement, and it will obviously be with the users that we will adopt the gauge", assured Valérie Pécresse, the president of 'Ile-de-France Mobilités, last Friday.
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The supply of trains, metros, buses and trams in force was revised downwards from March 1, in consultation with user associations.
During the day, around 90% of the usual offer is maintained, except on lines 7 and 13 or the RER B, the busiest.
On the other hand, the frequency of subways and trains drops after 7:30 p.m. In the evening, only one in two metro runs.
The Transiliens have reduced the service since March 15, with an announced maximum delay of 30 minutes between two trains.
