Nice: the public transport authority adjusts and strengthens its strategy against fraud

Le Figaro Nice

The Lignes d'Azur agency, which manages the public transport network in the metropolis of Nice, will adjust and strengthen its system to fight against fraud as summer approaches. The hunt for those who do not have a valid title will continue and intensify, with more controllers. Seventeen people will be hired to increase the number of officers in the Transport Control Security Group (CSTG) to 70. They will conduct joint operations with the municipal and national police.

With 300,000 passengers per day (including nearly 100,000 on line 1), the agency counts about 10% of individuals who do not have a ticket, a loss of five million euros. To improve the collection of fines, agents will be made available to the Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP). An agreement has been signed.

In the face of fraudsters, the access gates of the underground stops of line 2 will play a preponderant role. Deactivated since the beginning of the health crisis to avoid queues and therefore the risk of contamination, they will be put back into operation from July 1, announced the Lignes d'Azur agency. This concerns the stations Garibaldi Le Château, Durandy and Alsace-Lorraine. The Jean-Médecin stop, where a large flow of passengers is concentrated because of its centrality in the city and its proximity to line 1, will not see its gantries reactivated immediately. Because of a design flaw, they will have to be moved. This will also make it possible to improve traffic flow afterwards.

Read alsoIn Nice, a coating against two-wheelers tested on a tram track

The board, chaired by the elected municipal representative of Nice Gaël Nofri, will also work to simplify the purchase of tickets and therefore the act of validation. A contactless card will be offered. Validation on iPhone will disappear because of a system not secure enough but it will still be possible to recharge your card. On Android systems, both will still be possible. This desire to harden the tone for more civility in public transport in Nice should also make it possible to better regulate services. In this sense, an internal observatory for monitoring controls will be inaugurated.