How Île-de-France Mobilités is preparing transport for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

The astonishing numbers of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games:

• 25 venues (13 within Paris and 12 in the inner and outer suburbs) for the Olympic Games, and 17 venues (including 10 in Paris and 7 in the suburbs) for the Paralympic Games.
• 50 sessions per day for the Olympic Games (767 sessions in total, including the two ceremonies), and 18 sessions per day for the Paralympic Games (261 sessions in total, including the two ceremonies).
• Up to 500,000 spectators per day (300,000 for the Paralympic Games).
• Anticipated daily attendance of up to 300,000 spectators during the Paralympic Games, which will take place during the back-to-school period in France.

The goal of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee and Île-de-France Mobilités is crystal clear: to enable every spectator to get to the Olympic and Paralympic venues using public transport.

A tailor-made transport plan

Times, stations served, frequency of services, lines concerned: a transport plan is everything that defines the way in which a location or event will be served.

Normally, transport plans in Île-de-France are built from a heritage, that of the experience brought by decades of network management. An experience that means we can anticipate major passenger movements, which lines will have greatest demand and peaks in traffic depending on the time of day. But with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, everything has changed.

Network experience is not enough. To build the transport plan we needed to integrate new data and adapt it to the reality of the network:

• The maximum numbers permitted at the various Olympic and Paralympic venues,
• The calendar of sports sessions,
• Assumptions based on the organisation of the Games in other cities in previous years.

Everything is new, and so is the transport plan! “This is precise human management, not the work of an algorithm. We design all the scenarios and plans for each event ourselves.” explains Laurence Debrincat, Director of Studies and the Olympic and Paralympic Games

How will the travel work during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games for visitor and residents?

During the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Île-de-France Mobilités will meticulously coordinate transportation to the Olympic and Paralympic venues using public transport. This initiative will significantly affect the daily commutes of residents. Various measures will be implemented to ensure seamless mobility during the Games.

• Transport Public Paris 2024, a dedicated mobile app designed to enhance spectator travel. This application, available for download in April 2024, will offer a trip planner adapted for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games with access plans to the different venues. It will save time for spectators at the station.
• Each event has its own mobility strategy: Île-de-France Mobilités will organise a precise transport plan, with routes adapted to the event (and alternative routes in case of incidents) for each sports session,
• A transport service increased by 15% and concentrated in the heart of the city: to anticipate the increase in the number of passengers on the different lines,
• “Point-to-point” bus shuttles for spectators:
  Four hundred articulated buses will be deployed at all Olympic and Paralympic venues in the outer suburbs and west of Paris (Roland Garros and Parc des Princes) for spectators.
• Promoting alternative solutions: information campaigns for visitors and residents to direct them towards routes best adapted to the event and encourage solutions such as cycling, carpooling or working remotely,
• Passenger information: 5,000 customer service staff will be present in stations to inform spectators. Special signage will also be installed on public transport to direct passengers to the correct routes.

Which lines will be most impacted during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games? 

Metro Lines 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14, train Lines J (Argenteuil branch), L, N, P and U, tram T3 and RER B, C and D will be the most used. Because they provide service to a majority of Olympic and Paralympic venues.

Shuttles dedicated for spectators in wheelchairs

To facilitate travel to the Olympic and Paralympic venues, shuttles will be available by reservation, leaving from central Paris stations (Gare de Lyon, Gare d'Austerlitz, Gare Montparnasse, Gare Saint-Lazare, Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est, Rosa Parks on the RER E), for spectators who have a Paris 2024 ticket purchased from the official website and reserved for people in wheelchairs.

Although many lines are accessible in Île-de-France, it may be difficult for a passenger in a wheelchair to travel or access reserved seats because of the high passenger numbers.

What safety measures will be put in place in public transport during Paris 2024?

Île-de-France Mobilités maintains an ongoing security policy to enhance passenger safety across its transport network. This commitment extends to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, where additional security measures will be implemented in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

A human presence for security in public transport

• 3,000 security and safety staff will be present on the Île-de-France Mobilités network. On platforms, at stations and on-board: patrols from GPSR* (RATP), Suge ** (SNCF) but also private security teams and mediators to ensure the safety of passengers. These teams act in addition to the national police and gendarmerie forces and will be mobilised for the Paris 2024 Games.
• Cyno-detection brigades (detection of explosives) are also deployed on the network to deal with any abandoned objects. They will be mobilised for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and will work hand in hand with the police.
• The security system for the Île-de-France Mobilités network is planned and coordinated under the authority of Paris police HQ in charge of security for the event and on public transport, in particular through of the Operational Security Coordination Centre (CCOS), co-financed by Île-de-France Mobilités.

More than 200 million euros have been dedicated by Île-de-France Mobilités to the human presence for transport security in 2022.

Video protection on public transport and in stations

• Beyond the human presence, more than 80,000 video protection cameras are deployed across the entire network and 10 million euros will be invested to improve and increase surveillance of the main stations serving the Olympic venues.

Increased cleaning

To guarantee an optimal level of cleanliness for all passengers, both inside and around stations, the number of security agents will be increased. They will be present seven days a week with three times the level of service compared to normal, on average.

Where are the Olympic and Paralympic venues in Île-de-France?

Some competition venues are in other French regions including Tahiti, Nice, Marseille and Bordeaux. The majority are located in Île-de-France, host region for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Here is the list of these venues:

Central Paris: 

• Arena Champ de Mars
• Arena Porte de la Chapelle 
• Arena Bercy
• Grand Palais
• Hôtel de Ville 
• Stade de la Concorde
• Invalides
• Pont Alexandre III
• Pont d’Iéna
• Stade Tour Eiffel
• Parc des Princes
• Stade Roland Garros
• Arena Paris Sud 1
• Arena Paris sud 6
• Arena Paris Sud 4

Elsewhere in Île-de-France:

• Stade de France (93)
• Arena Paris Nord (93)
• Site d’escalade du Bourget (93)
• Centre Aquatique (93)
• Stade Yves-du-Manoir (92)
• Paris La Défense Arena (92)
• Château de Versailles (78)
• Colline d’Élancourt (78)
• Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (78)
• Stade BMX de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (78)
• Golf National (78)
• Stade nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne (77)

*Network Protection and Security Group

**General Surveillance