2023-10-05 18:28:43
This is a delicate issue that the elected officials of Greater Reims (Marne) had to unravel with the award of the new concession contract for the operation of transport and mobility services. Of the three candidates in the running, Keolis, RATP Dev and Transdev, the elected officials of Greater Reims chose the latter, which until now operated the urban transport network on behalf of the previous concessionaire, Mars. However, the urban community terminated the contract signed in 2006 with this group of shareholders which would run until 2041. The president of Grand Reims, Catherine Vautrin, judged it unsuitable for the expansion of her community and the objectives linked to the energetic transition.
Rural supply will grow by 291%
Beyond this overall technical choice for users, Grand Reims promises “a new era of mobility transport services”. “This constitutes one of the major points of the territorial project which is to create a transport network on the scale of the 143 municipalities, against only 16 currently, so that each inhabitant is less than a kilometer from a response of transport,” explained Catherine Vautrin, at the time of the vote on this deliberation.
In detail, the new contract, which covers a period of six years, promises an extended and better quality service, both in town and in the countryside. The urban offer will increase by 14%, in particular thanks to the two high-level service bus lines (on their own site with priority at traffic lights) which will see the light of day in 2025. As for the rural offer, seven peri-urban lines, one line linking the Champagne-Ardenne TGV station to Verzy and nine on-demand transport lines will enable it to grow by 291%! The contract also provides for 800 bicycles for long-term rental, eight modernized park-and-ride facilities, new guaranteed carpooling lines and the digitalization of all services.
On the financial side, Grand Reims will pay €357.8 million over six years to the delegatee. This is counting on attendance increasing by 43% over the duration of the contract and €18 million in revenue per year, compared to €14 million currently. Not enough to reassure the elected left-wing opposition and environmentalists who voted against this project, believing that “the privatization of public transport is a serious error”. They demanded a move to direct management.
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