“We knew this kind of thing would happen“says Eric Combes, CGT delegate for Kéolis bus drivers in Riom. On November 9, several young people paved a bus in front of the Lycée Laurencin de Riom because they would have been annoyed not to find a place on board. The driver who allegedly refused to overload his vehicle was also the target of verbal aggression a little further in front of the Riom station.
No matter how much we educate them to take school buses, there is more and more tension at rush hour – Eric Combes, CGT driver delegate from Kéolis to Riom
However, the rules of use for the 2,400 young people subscribing to RLV Mobilité have changed.. On paper, they can use school buses and city buses, outside of rush hour. Corn in fact, they take the first bus that passes when leaving school, often city buses. This in order to limit the wait caused by school bus schedules that are not always adapted.
“No matter how much we do pedagogy so that they take the school buses, there is more and more tension at rush hour“continues Eric Combes. “This also poses a problem for other users who can no longer use urban transport after their working day.“abounds Christian Mélis, vice-president in charge of mobility at Riom Limagne and Volcans.
– Thomas Loret
Riom Limagne and Volcanoes appealing to youth citizenship
The problem is not new and has been observed since the start of the school year. A difficulty accentuated by the size of the city buses limited to 22 or 25 seats. “They should put bigger buses and at least two buses per line“said Ryan, a management and logistics student at Marie Laurencin high school in Riom. A 50-seat bus is currently running on urban line 2 at peak hours on an experimental basis. It will be perpetuated if the improvements are conclusive.
While waiting for real changes, two mediators circulate on the network to make users aware of the sharing of the network (4 urban lines and 34 school lines, editor’s note). “The goal is for these two networks to be complementary“indicates Christian Mélis. In addition, explanatory letters and an infographic will be sent to families via intranets. to recall the good practices of Riom public transport.
– Thomas Loret