It is indeed the largest public-service delegation, but more importantly it’s one of the most complete networks in Europe. Its development is fuelled by a dynamic urban area experiencing impressive economic growth. At the same time, the local government has decided to give priority to public transport and soft modes, with a policy to bolster transport on foot and by bicycle. The modal share for cars dropped from 53 % to 47 % between 1995 and 2006, and the objective is to get that figure under 40 % by 2030. We’re fortunate to be working with a local authority that’s made this decision, and we intend to assist this policy by ensuring excellent standards in the urban transport network. Our first priority is quality of service. For instance, we’re developing new traveller information services and we’re also focused on customer relations, with an emphasis on presence in stations to optimise and facilitate passenger flow, while we’re paying close attention to the cleanliness of the network. Our second objective is excellence in the field of technical innovation, in particular via the pooling of energy between the metro and tram networks, as well as regenerative braking and, at Sytral’s initiative, via experimentation on three different hybrid bus technologies. In addition, we have implemented new measures in the fight against fare evasion, such as controls by plain-clothes ticket inspectors.
The third axis of excellence concerns management and the working environment within the company. Our approach is to develop a service culture focused on the quality of daily interactions between our 4,500 employees and our customers.
The Lyon public transport network has the particularity of being multimodal, with four metro lines, five tramway lines, bus and trolley-bus routes and even a cable car. There is a real network philosophy there, which culminated in the launch of the Atoubus network in 2011. The bus / trolley bus network has been completely reorganised around a “backbone” consisting of metro lines, tram lines and 26 « high-level-of-service » bus routes. As on a metro line, these routes have regular schedules throughout the day and most of the year – so no need to look at timetables any more! The other routes round out the network more fully. The results are spectacular: over the last four years, the network’s usage has increased by 19 %, with passenger numbers on buses alone rising by 22 %. Beforehand, only the metro’s figures used to improve each year. Nowadays, every mode of transport is contributing to a rise in network usage. Intermodality and soft modes have helped as well, not least thanks to the Vélov’ bike-sharing scheme – which offers the first hour free for subscribers – as well as cycle-park stations at Park-and-Ride sites in Greater Lyon.
Also, as part of the redevelopment of the Part-Dieu area, we intend to pursue our intermodal approach, especially in terms of pedestrian walk routes, in order to propose complementary and alternative solutions to public transport modes.
Since 2008, the Keolis Group has been analysing new urban tendencies and their impact on mobility. In Lyon, we studied the movements of our 350,000 registered users in an anonymous fashion. We found that, contrary to popular belief, commuter journeys represent only 20 % of all trips. And, for 60 % of registered users, journeys differ from one day to the next. One aspect of the study related more specifically to the six million visitors Lyon welcomes each year. We’re working in partnership with the Tourist Office and have already developed offers for visitors such as the Lyon City Card, which combines public transport use and access to museums. Our goal is to take part in the ‘Welcome Attitude’ scheme developed by Only Lyon, by offering an easy way to use public transport with modified signage and access to passenger information in several languages.