While the report of the Court of Auditors will soon be unveiled, the Mixed Syndicate of Urban Transport (Smitu), organizing authority for sustainable mobility, is trying somehow to ensure its public service mission on the perimeter of the North Moselle .
Keolis Thionville Fensch is now at the wheel on the field. And the finding on the absenteeism of drivers remains the same: 30% of them are in the workforce, but are in fact absent. The discomfort among them persists. And it’s the whole system that seizes up.
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“Keolis is not able to cope with unexpected absences”
In the trade union committee, last week, Bernard Veinnant, vice-president in charge of Transport and the network, endeavored to take stock of progress. “The situation today is not satisfactory. Races are deleted every day. Regarding driver absenteeism, out of a workforce of 160, some days we are 60 absent. Keolis is not able to cope with unexpected absences. All those who are qualified to drive are mobilized. I understand the concerns of users, schools and others. The worst thing is to show up in the morning at a stop and find that the bus is not there. It is absolutely necessary to give visibility to people. “
Hence the welcome change to the obsolete network operating assistance system, voted on Wednesday (€ 900,000 excl. Tax), which will supply the tools for disseminating information to the user in real time. “The solution is not satisfactory, agrees the mayor of Basse-Ham, but it allows to organize his mode of travel. We are working with Keolis on the subject. We are going to make a proposal on this notion of information for users, and we will discuss it at a future office. ”
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€ 120,000 in penalties to date
And the elected to clarify: “All the services which are not provided by Keolis Thionville Fensch are subject to significant penalties. We are now at more than € 120,000. We do not let anything. They are required to provide the service as written in the specifications for the public service delegation. At the same time, we know that the job market is very complicated. With, for us, an additional constraint, the proximity of Luxembourg which attracts candidates, even if Keolis offers rather good salaries. “
Bernard Veinnant lets glimpse a gleam in this very dark landscape. “We will soon be meeting the president of Keolis France to discuss this subject with him. Today, we have this feeling of pushing a ball, the ball of absenteeism, which means that we cannot ensure all the races. “
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