\u201cIt\u2019s not my job to stop you, go ahead and jump the turn styles\u201d<\/em><\/h4>\nOne of the most shocking results from any of the above experiences is that, in almost every situation, turn-styles are within eye-sight of a RATP employee; it has become almost a passive approval for RATP employees to look turn-style hoppers in the eyes as they do it, without so much as picking up a radio or wagging a finger. Mongin wants higher fines \u2013 I want more efficient security.<\/p>\n
In some stations, such as the Asni\u00e8res-Sur-Seine regional train station, there aren\u2019t even turn-styles. It is a 5-minute train-ride from Paris to its suburb, with no turn-styles on either side, and no one checking on the train \u2013 a ticket costs north of \u20ac2.30 for those commuters, and I\u2019d be surprised if anyone\u2019s paying at all.<\/p>\n
In the end, however, my real issue is that, beyond all that lack of security, if you happen to stumble upon any of the 1000+ full-time employees whose job it is to check tickets, you will quickly realize that most of the people who habitually don\u2019t pay (those who Mongin wants to increase fines on the most), have already discovered that tickets only get checked at exits, so all one needs to do is tread lightly as they get off the metro, and see if people in front of them get stopped, in order to avoid getting fined.<\/p>\n
How Technology can solve this issue<\/h3>\n
Now that I\u2019ve painted a beautiful picture of how this writer spends his time on the metro, let\u2019s examine ways that we could avoid increasing fines (or do it anyway, it\u2019s irrelevant in the end) by using technology to solve this issue.<\/p>\n
Go Paperless \u2013 Where\u2019s the Paris Oyster Card?<\/i><\/h4>\n
New York & London both have less convenient metro systems than Paris; however, I carry around an Oyster card in my wallet en permanence <\/i>just as a reminder of how convenient the pay-as-you-go metro system is. In Paris, you have a paperless card; however, it is NOT pay-as-you-go, and if you travel at any regular frequency, it\u2019s not even monetarily incentivized. Buying the one-year metro pass \u00a0costs roughly 10 times the one-month pass \u2013 in their own advertisements they point out that, since you take two months of holidays anyway, this works out perfect to your travelling habits. I now carry a handful of paper-tickets around in my wallet, because I travel infrequently by metro, and I don\u2019t want to wait in the 9-hour line to buy metro tickets on the days I do take it.<\/p>\n
For tourists, the Paris metro system is entirely ridiculous. You have to study an outdated map that you\u2019ve never seen before and has no indication of where monuments are, in order to understand what Zone you\u2019re in now, what Zone you\u2019re going to, and what Zones you might travel to in the next few days, if you get a weekly pass. A weekly pass, by the way, starts on Monday, and ends on Sunday. No matter when you buy it. For tourists arriving on a Friday or a Saturday, good luck figuring out the best way to travel.<\/p>\n
What if, instead of patrolling, we just had drivers issuing tickets?<\/i><\/h4>\n
Mongin complains that the most fraud occurs on buses and (above-ground) trams \u2013 I agree. I haven\u2019t paid for either in years, and yet I say hello to the indifferent bus driver every time. In a recent visit to Amsterdam, I was shocked, yet pleased to see that their above-ground tram employees are there to make you pay. They\u2019ve got multi-language explanations of their one-trip and one-day pass tickets, and you either pay or get off. One unsuspecting tourist tried to sneak on a side-door, and was subsequently chastised as there is exactly one door for entering the tram \u2013 all the rest are for exiting.<\/p>\n
The RATP declared a 27.6% increase in revenue in H1 2013; I really doubt that making money is their big issue. The option Mongin opts for requires zero investment on their part, and will ultimately lead to the same problem a few years down the road.<\/p>\n
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