No more cheating on public transport! SNCF, RATP and other networks now have a new digital tool allowing controllers to track down cheaters.
Fraud in public transport is a calamity which represents a colossal loss of 700 million euros each year in France. For SNCF alone, this constitutes a deficit of 350 million euros per year – and again, this figure is certainly underestimated. For its part, the RATP suffers 170 million annual losses, while the RTM (in Marseille) puts forward the figure of 25 million euros per year. Suffice to say that this is highly problematic because this shortfall inevitably limits investments in renewing equipment and improving passenger comfort.
To combat this scourge, transport operators regularly carry out checks on board public transport. When the user does not have a valid transport ticket, they can either pay their fine immediately or receive it at home. Problem: according to statistics provided by the Union of Public and Rail Transport (UTPF), almost one in two fraudsters provide a false address during a check on the bus, tram or metro, this which makes it impossible to pay fines. Offenders are therefore never really worried about their tickets.
To remedy this, six major operators in the transport sector – SNCF, RATP, but also Tisséo (Toulouse public transport network), RTM (the Marseille network), Keolis and Transdev – will be able to use, from January 8, of a new system called Stop fraud. This digital tool should allow agents to verify the authenticity of the information given by users receiving a ticket, in particular their postal address. Enough to put an end to unpaid fines and impunity for fraudsters!
Validated by the CNIL, the digital policeman, this device allows agents to verify the information transmitted by users through a platform, by cross-checking it with data from public administrations and social security organizations, in the files of the Ministry of Tax Services. If the address given is incorrect, operators will then be able to send reports.
The Imprimerie Nationale has been designated as sole manager of this platform. She was also tasked with ensuring secure data processing, in which the system will be able to carry out up to one million checks per year, to help field agents greatly improve their fine recovery rates. The six major transport operators having invested in this project will first benefit from exclusive access for three months to the platform, before the gradual opening of the service to other urban transport networks.
Please note, however, there are some limitations. For this to work, the person being checked and at fault will have to agree to give their true identity. This is the only element that will allow the information to be verified with the Ministry of Finance. In addition, for the moment, inspectors will not be able to verify the address of the offender during the inspection itself. This possibility, however, appears in the bill for the “strengthening security in transport”tabled by the senator (LR) of Alpes-Maritimes Philippe Tabarot, who became Minister of Transport.
There are still some concerns about the use of offenders’ personal data. On this point, the Government assures that they will only be used for “enable the recovery of sums due. Furthermore, agents will not be able to collect this information after having followed “initial and continuing training in the protection of personal data”.