Stop the smart guys who gave a false address when they were checked. From Wednesday, six public transport operators, including SNCF and RATP, will be able to check the addresses of offenders without a transport ticket in order to ensure that the fine imposed on them arrives safely.
“Fraud, perceived as an injustice by other users, represents a loss of income estimated at around 700 million euros per year throughout the country. This system will make the addresses of offenders more reliable to optimize the recovery of fines,” indicates in a press release the Union of Public and Rail Transport (UTPF), the professional union of the sector.
A launch planned for Wednesday
The system “validated by the CNIL”, the policeman for the protection of personal data, and called “Stop Fraude”, will allow transport companies to check “at the end of the day” the address given by the offenders at the time the fine was notified by the controller.
In the immediate future, inspectors will not be able to verify the address of the offender during the inspection itself, but this possibility appears in the bill for “strengthening security in transport”, tabled by the senator (LR) of Alpes-Maritimes Philippe Tabarot, who became Minister of Transport, takes over from the UTPF.
Six companies, those which financed the system, will launch it this Wednesday: SNCF, RATP, Keolis, Transdev, RTM (Marseille public transport network) and Tisséo (the Toulouse network), said a representative of the 'UTPF. The other networks will in turn be able to adopt it within three months. The UTPF brings together some 150 urban network operators in total.
Improve the recovery rate
The terms of this new prerogative were detailed in a decree published on December 3. It provides that the system, developed and managed by the National Printing Office, has access to the files of the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP), in order to bring out the correct tax address, provided that the person has given their true identity. The system aims to reduce the risk of the fine being lost.
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According to the UTPF, half of the 700 million euros in unrecovered fines is borne by the SNCF, and the other half is shared between the RATP and the other urban transport networks. The amount of fraud at RATP amounts to 171 million euros per year.
“Fraud is a scourge which greatly reduces the capacities of communities and public transport operators in terms of equipment renewal, transport provision, and travel comfort,” argues the professional union.
