|
The search has begun for ideas
to improve transportation in all of Paris and free the capital
from cars! The latest project in study is the boat-bus. Since
the autumn, the organization CFTC-Paris, sensitive to the problems
of transportation in the capital, approached the city hall to
incite it to work on this alternative. It's idea is simple.
It consists of putting in place
a line of boat-busses that would serve six stations betwee the
Val-de-Marne (leaving from Maisons-Alfort/Charenton) and the
Hauts-de-Seine (to Issy-les-Moulineaux/Boulogne), passing through
the center of Paris. The organization has designated stops where
there would be an interconnection between the line of boat-busses
and of other modes of transport (train, bus, metro). The river
shuttles could leave from Maisons-Alfort (Val-de-Marne), stopping
next near the train stations Lyon and Austerlitz (12th-13th district),
then a stop at Chatalet, one at the Alma bridge (8th), one more
in the proximity of the hospital Georges-Pompidou (15th) and
finally, one last station at Issy-Val-de-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).
"The service could be as regular as a metro line, and accessible
to bearers of metro passes," insisted Joseph Thouvenel,
the president of the CFTC.
"It would not be a type
of mass transportation like the metro or train," added Denis
Baupin, the assistant mayor in charge of transportation. "This
mode of transport would better address a clientele who accords
more interest in quality of service than in speed. People who
would choose the system for weekend travel or days off, all those
who have a little time, etc.," he specified.
Today, the organization can
rub its hands: Denis Baupin has assured Joseph Thouvenel of his
support. He wishes to establish a pilot committee to reflect
on the river metro idea. Clearly, the city is going to work with
its partners (Ile-de-France Department of Tranportation, Independent
Port of Paris, neighboring communities, regional council, etc)
to determine the interest in a boat-bus line. "To put this
system in place, we must first respond to some specific questions:
who can finance the project? Who will run the line? Where would
the stations be implanted? What size should the boats be?"
explained Denis Baupin.
In the meantime, the boat-bus
rallies in its wake officials from all sides. The CFTC, who has
solicited the different committees of the Paris council as well
as the elected parliament of the capital, has received the support
of eighteen officials, from the left and right, and five officials
from the Val-de-Marne and the Hauts-de-Seine. "Henceforth,
we are going to make contact with the Ile-de-France Department
of Tranportation, the regional prefect, etc," says the CFTC.
Original article by Marie-Anne
Gairaud
Translated by David Sadegh
|