A short sentence which risks fueling long debates... This Monday, the president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse detailed her transport plan for the Olympic Games (July 26 - August 11) on the occasion of a press conference.
“You shouldn’t be afraid to do a little walking.
It’s good for your health, she warned.
It's August.
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The president of Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) then presented the instructions for the Anticipate the Games site.
This lists the different stops and stations by crowd level according to timetables between different categories – to avoid, extremely busy, very busy, to be preferred – and suggests suitable routes.
Read alsoParis 2024 Olympics: closures, crowded platforms… the classification of metro stations and train stations to avoid this summer
“Preferred routes” leading to the competition venue “will sometimes require finishing certain journeys on foot,” said Valérie Pécresse.
“A third of the visitors to the Games will be between 25 and 35 years old, we hope that between 25 and 35 years old, we can from time to time extend the journey on foot.
» The former presidential candidate provided an example of a trip to Trocadéro, recommending stopping at the previous station and “walking 100 meters” rather than arriving at a packed stop.
“It’s to focus on collective intelligence.
We put all our intelligence into it, if you don’t want to take advantage of it, it’s a choice,” she boasted.
💬 "You shouldn't be afraid to do a little walking. It's good for your health"
For the Olympics, Valérie Pécresse calls on Ile-de-France residents to avoid saturated stations and to go out at the station before or after pic.twitter.com/DNDo1WL3vv
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) March 25, 2024
The “Paris Public Transport 2024” application, which will be launched in May in six languages, will be able to measure “the real-time distribution of spectators” in the capital in order to give the traveler the best route, indicates the region.
Make way for alternate routes, therefore: regular users must “remove their automatic transport systems, the routes we give you are the right ones”, insisted Valérie Pécresse.
Other measures put in place
The president had justified the establishment of a special Olympic metro ticket price of 4 euros by the need to increase the frequency of the lines by 15%: the increase will reach 23% for eight lines serving the Olympic sites and 60 to 70% for three particularly busy lines (metro 9, RER A and RER C).
To ensure this additional offer, the recruitment of 300 drivers is nearing completion, indicated IDFM.
To serve sites far from stations (Roland-Garros, Parc des Princes, Versailles, St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Vaires-sur-Marne), 300 buses, or “one bus per minute” and per site, will be deployed, detailed Valérie Pécresse.
These shuttles will be accessible free of charge.
Another type of shuttle, 150 in all, will be set up to transport disabled people and their companions from the eight Parisian stations to the entrance to the sites.
Read alsoOJ Paris 2024: a metro ticket for 4 euros, yes, but “so that no one buys one”, defends Pécresse
Around 2,000 additional electric bikes in the region, Véligo, will be available for a one or two month subscription at 53.90 euros, compared to the usual 40 euros over six months.
The Organizing Committee (Cojo) asked the region to financially cover the travel of the 200,000 accredited people (athletes, officials, journalists, etc.), i.e. a budget of just under 10 million euros, indicated the entourage of Valérie Pécresse, confirming information from Le Monde.
The Cojo can “optimize” its revenue, having “still sponsors to go to work” and “places to sell”, she estimated.