A powerful “Oooooh !!!
»Collective, eyes round like marbles, faces plunged into hands and victorious smiles… The mural that runs along the corridor of the Gare du Nord, in Paris (10th district), is amused by expressions and l interpretation that travelers can draw from it.
Are spectators surprised by the incredible dunk of a basketball player painted at the foot of the escalator or by a user's attempt to relieve themselves of a pressing desire immediately discouraged by the design of shocked looks?
The answer, you will never really know it and this is where the idea of the SNCF Ile-de-France (Transilien) lies: to resort to suggestions to dissuade or incite.
This is the principle of nudge.
The operator of the Ile-de-France stations where more than three million travelers pass every day (before the Covid-19 crisis) tests on its network behavioral science techniques popularized by Richard Thaler, Nobel Prize for economics in 2017. Giant urinals wild and their ferocious nuisances in terms of hygiene, odors and material degradation are perfect playgrounds for experimenting with nudges.
Escalators fail due to corrosion
Four stages have just been produced: two at Stade-de-France RER B and D stations in Saint-Denis and two others at Gare du Nord.
In the latter, the two black spots were located at the level of escalators, at the junction between the underground platform of the RER and the suburban tracks 30 and 31, located on the surface.
At the Stade-de-France station of the RER D, the corner has been dressed and users, dissuaded from stopping there to relieve themselves.
LP / CG
“Historically, many people urinated in these places, to the point that the two escalators very often broke down due to corrosion,” explains Zelda Crambert, manager of the H and K lines. One of the equipment was refurbished at the end of the day. 2020, which represents an investment of 200,000 euros. In the process, to avoid the return of the giant pissotière, the “Nudge unit” headed by Isabelle Collin within the SNCF Ile-de-France entered into action.
A spectacular and fun sport, an expressive crowd suspended from a perfect sporting gesture, a reminder to the floor of a basketball court, bright colors and voila.
The installation was set up at the start of the year.
And it works.
“The faces of the people drawn on the wall exert real social control,” notes Zelda Crambert.
“We have seen an 81% reduction in effusions,” confirms Isabelle Collin.
A small victory, like the smiles in the fresco.
Humidity sensors to check efficiency
But how does the operator know so precisely that the urge to pee at the foot of the escalator has dropped by 81%?
"We put humidity sensors for two months to detect urine," says the head of the Nudge unit.
The first tests were carried out in 2019 inside and on the forecourt of the Mureaux station (Yvelines) and were particularly conclusive since the SNCF noted an 88% drop in relieved urgent desires.
At the time, 600 questionnaires were also distributed to users to get their opinion on the experience.
"I like the sporting side and we all recognize each other in the crowd, there is diversity", approves a traveler crossed at the Gare du Nord.
"I find the fresco rather nice, it speaks to everyone," adds Chérif, also a Parisian public transport user.
“But I think that we should also put more public toilets,” he adds, noting that making toilets chargeable does not solve the problem for the homeless.
"The drawings have improved, we are no longer in a no-go zone!"
Same remark of Bernard Gobitz, of the association of users Fnaut Ile-de-France: If it works so much the better, he reacts, about anti-pee nudges.
But the solution is to install sanisettes.
The subject is far from secondary and it is part of customer service.
However, the answers to be found are not so simple: to realize it, just go to the second escalator of the Gare du Nord, protected by the same wall decoration as the first.
A foul odor of urine mixed with vague odors of detergent leaps in the face this time, despite the presence right next to the toilet.
“I hate going through those places, but I have no choice if I don't want to waste time and catch my train,” Yasmina laments.
The designs have nevertheless brought a great improvement, we are no longer in a no-go zone!
"
Recesses, secluded public spaces, underground passages are conducive to wild urinals.
Even a gateway to the premises of SNCF staff, such as at the RER B station in Saint-Denis, one of the main connections to the Stade de France.
"The problem is particularly important on match days" specifies Isabelle Collin.
To fight against wild urinals, as here on the forecourt of the RER B Stade-de-France station, a transparent fence that isolates the wall has been installed.
LP / Claire Guédon
The corner of the facade, next to the door, is now occupied by a rugby ball.
A small transparent fence isolates the wall and displays a team of players in the middle of a haka.
“Before, it was unbreathable, the smell infiltrated everywhere, including in the service vehicle that is parked in front, remembers Ranie, sales agent.
There, it is much more pleasant.
However, the difficulties did not completely disappear and the men with the fragile bladder returned to the gable of the building.
After Les Mureaux, the stations of Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), Plaisir-Grignon (Yvlines) were equipped in 2020 with these anti-pee nudges. The next installations are planned in Magenta, near the Gare du Nord, as well as in Grigny (Essonne) and Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine).