Operating networks

RATP Dev combines the know-how of a world leader with the energy, flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit of subsidiaries on the ground. RATP Dev's footprint currently spans over 30 cities, urban agglomerations and departments in France and 12 countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa.

Its teams have a comprehensive command of all aspects of their industry, from network design and operation to maintenance, safety, passenger information, ticketing, pricing and customer marketing. They work in extremely diverse situations, delivering services suited to local requirements. This extensive and broad experience allows them to provide innovative, reliable, economical and socially responsible solutions.

Since August 2011, the second branch of the Gautrain has been connecting South Africa's most populated metropolitan area, Johannesburg, with Pretoria, the country's administrative capital, at high speed (160 kph) with trains that run every 12 minutes during rush hour and every 20 minutes off-peak. When it was inaugurated in 2010, the line originally linked Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport with the city's business centre.

With the extension to Pretoria, the line now measures nearly 80 km. This new link will provide a major boost by helping to ease congestion on the country's busiest trunk road and by contributing to the region's economic growth. Work on this crucial infrastructure for South Africa took nearly five years and resulted in the African continent's largest construction site, requiring a total budget of €2.5 billion. This ultramodern rail link is eventually expected to be used by 100,000 passengers every day. RATP Dev, which is under contract to operate and maintain the network for 15 years, considers the project a major success.

Selected by the Entreprise du Métro d’Alger (EMA) in 2007 to assume the operation and maintenance of Algiers’ first metro line, RATP Dev has brought to the project its experience as a multimodal transport services provider, as well as its expertise in training operating staff.

RATP El Djazair, a local subsidiary created in 2009 and comprising 400 employees, successfully presided over the pre-operational phase of the project and has now been awarded an 8-year contract to operate and maintain Line 1.

Train movements are managed via the centralised control room (PCC), which is situated on the line itself and is at the heart of the system for managing train movements, regulating traffic, monitoring stations and equipment, and controlling power systems.

RATP experts were called on to oversee both the hiring of local staff and their training in regulatory procedures and the tasks involved in operating and maintaining a metro line. As a result, nearly 500 jobs were created in the country.

RATP El Djazaïr was able to put its twofold expertise as technician and training specialist to the test during the dry runs preceding the start-up of metro service. During this trial phase when trains circulated without passengers, a hundred operational exercises were conducted. RATP El Djazaïr was not only able to put the entire system through its paces and prepare the facilities for accommodating passengers, it was also able to further staff training by confronting employees with real-life situations.

With its 14 trains comprised of 6 air-conditioned passenger cars each, the 9 km-long Algiers Metro line 1 will serve 10 stations in 6 communes: Bachdjarah, El Magharia, Hussein Dey, El Hamma, Sidi M’Hamed and Alger Centre. The metro runs between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. with trains every 3m20s during peak hours and every 5 minutes during off-peak hours. The start-up of the Algiers Metro took place in November 2011.

Bus networks are essential for increasingly urbanised societies. These flexible, economical and ecological transport systems adapt to the changing needs of populations. RATP Dev's teams on the ground are improving the quality of services through driver training programmes, real-time passenger information systems and ticketing that employs the most sophisticated technology.

Revitalising a service through innovation – the Impulsyon network (La Roche-sur-Yon)

In October 2009, RATP Dev won the contract to manage urban transport in La Roche-sur-Yon and the surrounding area, covering 85,000 inhabitants in the local federation of municipalities. RATP Dev beat other applicants by proposing a restructured and hierarchised bus network, featuring extended timetables, more transfer points, a more extensive service in the area and optimised route times. The network, renamed Impulsyon, places an emphasis on multimodality and intermodality, including completely secure bicycle sheds.
Read more

Improving safety - SQYBUS, the leading urban network in Île-de-France (excluding Paris)

SQYBUS operates the leading urban network in the Île-de-France region (excluding Paris) for the city of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The prevention policies introduced have proved extremely successful in combatting antisocial behaviour. SQYBUS drivers visit schools every year to educate young pupils on using public transport and foster civil behaviour. The scheme, which has been introduced at other RATP Dev subsidiaries, helps to reduce antisocial behaviour.
Read more

Developing a winning marketing approach – TP2A (Haute-Savoie and Geneva, Switzerland)

TP2A has introduced a number of innovations to encourage local people to use its nine bus routes. These include over 60,000 free "discovery" tickets regularly sent to homes in the 12 towns of the Annemasse agglomeration and several thousand free roses for female passengers on International Women's Day.
Read more

Delivering high-quality services - McDonald Transit Associates (USA) - the 4th largest private urban transport company

McDonald Transit Associates runs operations in 15 States for 31 public entities in the US. The networks it manages carry over 49 million passengers every year, employing 3,000 workers and operating 1,300 vehicles. Renowned for its excellence in safety, marketing and operating network management, this RATP Dev subsidiary has received numerous awards and trophies in recognition of its teams' know-how and performance. Five of the networks it manages in Texas, Georgia, Florida and Idaho have in turn been named "network of the year" by the American Public Transit Association (APTA).
Read more

Operating a new network - the HERM consortium (Modena, Italy)

RATP Dev leads the HERM consortium, which in March 2009 was chosen by the Region of Modena to revamp and operate a network of 400 buses and trolleybuses serving 47 municipalities with a total of 4.3 million inhabitants.
Read more

RATP Dev introduces regular routes, school services and staff transport services in areas with increasingly congested road networks. Its subsidiaries provide attractive, economical and responsible transport to meet passengers' new expectations.

Innovative development - CEOBUS (95)

CEOBUS (Val d'Oise Department and Noctilien networks) has forged a trusted partnership with the Val-d’Oise departmental council, under which it operates nine regular routes and 121 routes serving schools and businesses in urban and rural areas. Its know-how and a detailed analysis of requirements have enabled CEOBUS over the years to gradually create a solid network of regular baseline routes based on a patchwork of on-demand school transport routes and services. These extensive efforts have reduced journey times and developed a close-knit network in an area of scattered homes, something that rural populations now highly value.
Read more

Bringing proficiency to the economy - Cars Jacquemard (27)

RATP Dev has proven experience in the integration of family-run businesses, providing them with methods and procedures that enhance their performance and underpin their professionalism. The industrial maintenance management programme introduced at Cars Jacquemard has cut servicing costs while at the same time improving quality of service.
Read more

FlexCité - Catering to a range of mobility needs

RATP Dev delivers on-demand public transport services to local authorities to cater for customers with reduced mobility. Its vehicles are specially adapted for different types of disability. Its teams of professionals are specifically trained to meet passengers' needs and make on-demand reservations. This has made FlexCité the choice of councils in various departments in the Île-de-France region (77, 91, 93, 94 and 95). As a result, FlexCité transports over 1 million people every year. Other RATP Dev networks in France provide similar services alongside their regular routes.
Read more

Mobicité – Serving the community 

Mobicité provides various local authorities with on-demand community and transport services that are perfectly suited to small-scale travel requirements. These services complement baseline local networks. The solutions proposed meet a wide range of needs, from urban pick-up and drop-off services to on-demand transport based on the share taxi model to seasonal tourist flows. To serve these requirements, Mobicité prefers to offer electric vehicles wherever possible.

Mobicité provides shuttle services for businesses and areas with intensive industrial or economic activity, linking them with public transport networks. In the outskirts of Paris, EDF, Microsoft, MAA, Nexity, Monoprix, Renault and many other groups put their trust in its services.
Read more

EM Services - Supporting businesses

Entreprises et Mobilité Services (EM Services) assists businesses that want to improve their employees' travel conditions. This specialised RATP Dev subsidiary (90 %) assesses the accessibility of a site or area of activity, defines adapted solutions and identifies alternatives to individual journeys by car.
Read more