RATP loses bus monopoly in Île-de-France after opening to competition

Several bus lines in Paris and the inner suburbs will no longer be operated by the RATP due to the opening to competition, a first since the Liberation.

It's official: the RATP loses the bus monopoly in Paris and the inner suburbs, for the first time since the Liberation. Keolis has won a batch of bus lines as part of the opening to competition. During its board of directors, Île-de-France Mobility (IDFM) voted on Tuesday evening to award this lot containing 39 bus lines in Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Seine- et-Marne to this SNCF subsidiary.

For travelers, at first glance, this should not make any difference. The route of the lines, the timetables, the ticketing, even the dressing of the buses: nothing changes, promises the transport organizer Île-de-France Mobilities. For now, RATP agents in Paris and its suburbs must receive a letter informing them that they will be transferred. And it is only on August 1 that the transfer will come into force on the ground.

An opening to competition spread over several years

Unions fear a tightening of working conditions, with more restrictive hours, even if remuneration will initially be preserved. The handover could therefore generate friction, with episodes of strikes and resignations of bus drivers who are difficult to replace.

To avoid social unrest, this opening to competition was therefore postponed, then spread over two years, it will therefore end in 2026 for all 300 bus lines, and even in 2040 for the metro and the RER.