The Akha application allows you to report the presence of RATP and SNCF controllers and also those of law enforcement on public transport in Ile-de-France. But obviously this app is not to everyone's taste.
Published on 15/01/2025 10:51
Reading time: 2min
It is one of the most downloaded free applications currently on the Apple Store. The Akha app allows its users to notify others of the presence of controllers or police forces in real time, a bit like Waze with speed cameras. It is presented by its creators as an application for reporting incidents in public transport. Except that after a day spent on it, we see that the application is mainly used to geolocate controllers and law enforcement officers throughout Ile-de-France in real time.
Its downloads have exploded in particular since a message on X from Valérie Pécresse on Monday January 13. “Sans vergogne, 'Akha' […] facilitates transport fraud by locating controllers and security forces. Not to mention the help it provides to delinquents and criminals”she writes. The president of the Ile-de-France region denounces an application which she says “facilitates fraud“. She announces that she will put the Google and Apple platforms that host it on notice. Valérie Pécresse orders them to delete the application.
The vice-president of Ile-de-France Mobility, Grégoire de Lasteyrie, whom we contacted, indicates that a complaint was also filed. He denounces a dangerous application: “It is a danger to the teams of controllers, police, gendarmerie who are present on the network, because by giving their position in real time, we can create situations of tension around these personnel responsible for our security.”
The RATP also announces that it is filing a complaint against the application. The application has already been removed from the Play Store on Android by Google but remains available on Wednesday morning on the Apple Store.
