The commercial speed of buses in Paris reached a limit of 11 km/h in 2022. Congestion, roadworks, and disregard for bus priorities have long been a problem. Unions and associations advocate for targeted measures that could improve fluidity.
Expanding bus lanes
Introduced in the 1990s, dedicated bus lanes have allowed Parisian buses and taxis to save precious minutes. Since the Covid-19 crisis, the City of Paris has transformed some of these lanes into bicycle lanes.
Does this mean that these protected corridors are being sacrificed for bicycles? “No,” says David Belliard (EELV), Deputy in charge of mobility. “In 2014, there were 144 km of bus lanes. In 2022, we have reached 159 km, an increase of 10%. Including since 2020, we have created more. Despite criticism from cycling associations, we have made choices to preserve bus lanes, such as on Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle.”
Better-designed and regulated intersections
Places de Clichy, Madeleine, and Bastille are all troublesome points where buses get stuck. Prioritized merge lanes and staggered traffic lights could allow buses to merge and clear more easily.
“At Rue de Lyon (12th arrondissement), near Place de la Bastille, we will be piloting a traffic light prioritization system for buses. The goal is to improve fluidity and frequency,” announces David Belliard. In the past, buses on Line 62 were equipped with devices that triggered green lights as they approached. “It yielded good results,” recalls Cemil Kaygisiz, bus driver and CGT-RATP delegate.
Tackling the problem of obstructive parking
Throughout the day, delivery vans and private individuals park in double file. Often, bus lanes are used as parking spaces. These behaviors result in delays of several minutes every day on each bus line. National and municipal police officers issue a significant number of fines for this offense.
“We have strengthened enforcement,” emphasizes David Belliard. “Since the beginning of the year, the municipal police have issued 209,000 fines for obstructing bus circulation. It is quite substantial, and it will increase further. The prefecture of police is also cracking down: nearly 92,000 fines were imposed in 2023, and 129,700 in 2022, for this type of offense.”
Penalizing vehicles that block intersections
It is another problem with driving in Paris: when a traffic light turns orange, some drivers believe it is useful to accelerate to position themselves in the intersection. The result is that nobody moves until the next cycle of lights, once again causing a widespread blockage. The national police recorded 5,400 infractions of this kind in 2022, and already 3,414 since the beginning of the year.
Experiments with video surveillance were carried out to automatically penalize these behaviors. However, technical difficulties arose in reading license plates. The possibility of generalizing video surveillance from cameras installed on the front of buses was briefly mentioned but never materialized. In addition to legal issues, the bus drivers’ unions did not want to assume the role of “issuers of fines.”
