In recent days, an application has unleashed passions by making it possible to report the position of controllers in public transport. But if it delights fraudsters, it is in the sights of the authorities…
Things are getting tougher for Ile-de-France travelers! While the Navigo pass goes from 86.20 to 88.80 euros per month and the pricing of the single ticket has been completely revised, the fight against fraud is intensifying. Indeed, since January 8, controllers have had a new digital tool allowing them to track down cheaters, who can no longer lie about their contact details. It is in this context that the Akha mobile application, available since 2023, is experiencing a strong resurgence of interest.
The platform, created by mobile developer Sid Ahmed Mekhiche, presents itself as an application “reporting on public transport”. It allows users to be warned of possible incidents while traveling, such as “equipment failure, delay or inappropriate behavior”. It highlights its community and solidarity side, notably via the SOS marker, “against attacks, incivility, material breakdowns which prevent accessibility to people with reduced mobility”. It’s a bit like the Waze of public transport after all! As a result, it ranks first among the most downloaded free applications in the “Transport” category on the App Store in France.
But Akha has a function that quickly captured the attention of users: being able to signal the presence of controllers to prevent violating users from being fined. The name of the application is also full of meaning, since it is the warning cry used by lookouts in the drug world to signal the arrival of the police or a suspicious person to the sellers and customers. It couldn’t be more clear.
Also, on Monday January 13, the president of the Ile-de-France region and Île-de-France Mobilités Valérie Pécresse said “scandalized by the application” and demands its closure. “The application, which is shamelessly named after the drug dealers’ alarm signal, facilitates transport fraud by locating controllers and security forces”she castigates.
“This is a criminal offense. We have given notice to the owner of the app” and asked “Google Play and the App Store to immediately close these features. At the same time, Île-de-France Mobilités will file a complaint “Fraud is stealing and transport security is our priority.”she announces, giving the platform a spotlight which has caused the number of downloads to take off.
She is not wrong, however, because reporting the presence of controllers is against the law. Article L2242-10 of the Transport Code stipulates that “the fact of disseminating, by any means whatsoever and whatever the medium, any message likely to signal the presence of controllers (…) is punishable by two months’ imprisonment and 3,750 euros in fines ‘fine”. It remains to be seen who can be held responsible. The users or the application developer?
HAS As of this writing, Akha is still available in the App Store, but Google has already removed it from its app store. The platform is also accessible via a Telegram group. Its promotion by Valérie Pécresse allowed its developer to promote a crowdfunding page in order to extend its scope to the rest of the public transport networks of major cities around the world and to report not only traffic disruptions , but also the presence of pickpockets and stalkers.