Riyadh, a world-class bus network entrusted to RATP Dev and SAPTCO
Context Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is achieving a dynamism especially significant which should be confirmed in the years to come, both in economic and demographic terms. Riyadh has a central role in the economic development ambitions of the country that boasted 5.13% GDP growth in 2012. There are currently some 5.7 million people living in Riyadh and the city s population should climb to over eight million in 2030. It should be noted that 90% of travel in Riyadh is via privately owned vehicles, which causes chronic traffic congestion along many of the city s main transport arteries. At the same time, atmospheric pollution from vehicle carbon emissions is becoming important. This is the context in which the local transport authority, the ADA (ArRiyadh Development Authority), decided to develop a major multimodal public transport network. Starting with buses, network will later include metro. After four years of studies, meetings and trips amounting to 20,000 hours of work, the RAP Dev-SAPTCO alliance won the contract to operate the first bus network in the city of Riyadh. The event is all the more exceptional given that this is the first time that a major capital city awarded a carte blanche contract to create this kind of infrastructure. The contract, which was signed with the Riyadh city transport authority (ArRiyadh Development Authority), is the culmination of a bid won in the face of British competition, which is highly present in the region. The contract is worth 1.675 billion over ten years and includes the creation of a world class bus network with a hundred lines including four lines of buses with a high level of service, two circular lines, 16 regular lines and some 70 feeder lines for dense coverage of the city s various districts. The extent of this project bears no comparison in today s world, especially given the fact that it is being implemented at the same time as work on the future six-line metro network. The project stems from the will of King Abdullah ben Abdul-Aziz al-saud to provide the kingdom s five leading cities (Riyadh, Medina, Mecca, Jeddah and Dammam) with ambitious public transport infrastructures to alleviate a saturated road network. RATP Dev has already formally announced its position with its SAPTCO partner to operate the future Riyadh metro system. RATP Dev should also stake out a position for other tenders in the country and also throughout the region (Qatar and the United Arab Emirates).
The future Riyadh bus network: route and characteristics The project includes the creation of an entire bus network for the Riyadh city region. The future bus network will be deployed in three phases after 2 years of preparation onwards and will stretch over several hundred kilometres from the Southeast to the Northwest. The aim of the transport authority is to make this network a true world reference in terms of service quality which will be able to challenge the best international standards. nearly 1,000 vehicles with four BHLS lines, two circular lines, 16 regular lines, 70 feeder lines (predetermined and transport on demand) and nearly 4,000 stopping points. Users will be able to enjoy a neighbourhood service with small vehicles feeder to lines with a high level of service. In total, over 90 million passenger-kilometres will be travelled every year. Buses running in the new network will be specially designed for Riyadh. Passengers will enjoy the latest progress in terms of comfort, safety and ease of access. Vehicles in circulation and the bus air-conditioning and video projection facilities. Buses will run every day between 5 a.m. and 1 a.m. Three depots located across the city will house the thousand buses used on the network. The most cautious estimations project patronage at over 120 million passengers each year. To support RATP Dev, the RATP Group subsidiary IXXI, which specialises in remote ticketing, will install ticketing, operation and passenger information systems. IXXI will also be the ticketing operator on behalf of the operating company, PTC (Public Transport Company). A SAPTCO/RATP Dev joint venture to implement and operate the network Public Transport Company, the SAPTCO/RATP Dev joint venture, will launch service, operate and maintain the future bus network in Riyadh on behalf of the consortium. As the historic operator of bus networks in Saudi Arabia, SAPTCO will be running the joint venture alongside RATP Dev. The Saudi company contributes its outstanding knowledge of the local purchasing, depot construction and recruitment of drivers and maintenance operatives. RATP Dev contributes the experience and know-how of a major multi-modal group that is internationally acknowledged, along with its ability to adapt its expertise to local needs and situations. The balance in the SAPTCO-RATP Dev relationship is based on the genuine and complementary commitment of both partners given their respective between the partners with strong RATP Dev presence in issues concerning the administration and operation of large-scale urban networks. nearly 1,000 vehicles and nearly 4,000 stopping points 5
The undertakings of each company are divided as follows for the joint venture: SAPTCO, the historic operator in Saudi Arabia which enjoys a very strong reputation, is committed to support functions (IT, HR, administrative and financial management, etc.). SAPTCO will also be tasked with steering depot construction and purchasing vehicles. RATP Dev, a multimodal operator, contributes its expertise in project management to launch public transport network service, operation and maintenance of networks with a high level of service quality and transferring know-how to local teams. RATP Group experts will also be in charge of training staff in all business lines. The two companies have established a joint venture to which they are financially committed. RATP group experts seconded on site There will be 14 experts from RATP Group seconded to the project who will be on site for the 4,500 employees of the future bus network in Riyadh. Presentation of the two project leaders. Thierry Mons, Project Director Thierry Mons holds a master s degree in public transport network operation and development. His entire career has been with RATP Group where among other duties he has been the director of two Paris bus centres and one French subsidiary. Thierry Mons acquired experience in the Paris region, in French provinces and also internationally, as he participated in the construction and tender to operate the Algiers tramway. Thierry Mons also conducted an audit on behalf of the Casablanca wilayah of Casablanca surface network operations in Morocco. Bus shelters along structural lines will be fitted with air-conditioning After initial training in sales, Cédric Boisson developed in-depth experience as a multi-purpose buyer and worked in turn at Rhône Poulenc, Surcouf (IT products), Ascom (motorway tolls) and at RATP in industrial supplies and transversal products. Cédric Boisson joined the Riyadh team after working as a management controller in a bus centre in the Paris region. Cédric Boisson, Project Manager In addition to the successful network launch in 2016, RATP Dev is aiming to transfer its know-how gradually to local managers. RATP Dev has accordingly committed to training Saudi managers in Paris and Riyadh before gradually handing over operations. The aim of the transport authority is to raise the future network to the level of best international standards 6
RATP group, present in 14 countries, operates in particular more than 1,000 buses in London RATP Group: a world standard in buses real-time information through customisable and mobile solutions (websites, smartphone applications and flash codes) is now available to passengers. every year. The aim of London United is to offer the British capital a modern, reliable and modern, international class network with very high quality. The London operator is a participant in the campaign to reduce CO2 emissions organised by the transport authority with increasing numbers of hybrid vehicles in its fleet. RATP Dev has also expanded into the South-West of England. With bus patronage rising significantly in recent years, the Yellow Buses subsidiary in Bournemouth won the Shire Operator of the Year award for two years running at the prestigious UK Bus Awards. China RATP Dev subsidiary Nanjing Zhongbei VTC operates the bus system in the Yangtze delta, which now carries 405 million passengers per year in a country where mobility requirements rise by 10% each year. USA RATP Dev s American subsidiary, McDonald Transit, operates bus networks in 15 U.S. states including the networks in Austin, Charlotte and Augusta. The American Public Transport Association has paid tribute to seven networks operated by McDonald Transit for the exceptional quality of its public transport system. The U.S. subsidiary successfully adapts the latest transport technologies to the U.S. market, for example, real-time information about wait times at bus stops and on the Internet and geo location tools. France Outside the historic network operated by RATP in the Paris region, RATP Dev runs many urban bus networks in particular in medium-sized towns such as Bourges, Vierzon and Moulins, etc. RATP Dev also operates buses with a high level of service through its TP2A subsidiary in Annemasse, which implemented a BHLS line to relieve traffic along a trans-frontier artery between France and Switzerland. Patronage has risen by 100% in ten years. By 2020 the new BHLS line should achieve the ambitious objective of +200% in patronage. Paris region With networks of urban and interurban buses, school bus and corporate services, city-centre shuttles and transport-on-demand, etc., RATP group operates one of the densest and most complex bus networks in the world. In total there are nearly 350 lines running daily in the Paris region with a fleet of some 4,500 buses operated by 13,000 drivers. To meet the mobility challenge of a billion passengers per year on its bus network in the Paris region, RATP Group constantly searches for innovative solutions to improve the quality of its offering and services. The network boasts 6,500 passenger information stations across its 12,000 stops. These stations provide real-time information about wait times between two buses. Information is updated by GPS tracers on board buses. Vehicles are also equipped with audio announcement systems. In addition, RATP Group is making massive investments to renew its fleet and maintain its offering at the cutting edge of modernity. Buses are almost all equipped with access ramps and video projectors. In addition, in its concern to preserve the environment the group is also exploring alternative approaches with less polluting vehicles and intends gradually to switch its fleet over to hybrid, electrical and even NGV technologies. International RATP Dev operates a fleet of over 7,000 buses worldwide. Many international cities have awarded contracts to operate their bus networks to RATP Dev in recognition of the quality of its tailored approach. United Kingdom London United, the RATP Dev London subsidiary, operates over 60 bus lines in Greater London. Nearly 30 million passengers used its red buses 8 9
RATP group With 14 million passengers every day worldwide, RATP group chaired by Pierre Mongin is the fifth largest urban transport operator worldwide. With its 14 metro lines including two driverless lines, two regional express rail lines, five (and soon seven) tramway lines and 350 bus lines and shuttle services for the Paris region s two international airports, the multimodal network operated by the RATP in the Paris region is the largest in the world to be operated by a single company. RATP group can devise, design and implement infrastructure development projects, operate and maintain networks irrespective of the transport mode (metro, regional train, tramway or bus) and develop innovative services to promote mobility such as passenger information, electronic ticketing, pricing and customer marketing. The automation of Paris metro s line 1, which was completed at the end of 2012, is a world first and once again has demonstrated the ability of RATP group to complete particularly complex projects. RATP Group exports its know-how all over the world via its Systra subsidiary (50% owned) in engineering, via its wholly-owned RATP Dev subsidiary in operations and maintenance and via its IXXI subsidiary for innovative services to promote mobility. RATP Dev RATP Dev is the RATP group subsidiary established in 2002 to export the group s operations and maintenance know-how outside the historic network operated by RATP in the Paris region. RATP Dev is present in 14 countries on four continents (Algeria, Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Morocco, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA and now Saudi Arabia). RATP Dev is aiming at revenue close to 1 billion in 2014. SAPTCO, Saudi Public Transport Company SAPTCO is the historic bus operator in Saudi Arabia. The company has been operating urban and inter-city networks for over 35 years. Its fleet of nearly 4,000 modern vehicles daily makes 600 to 1,000 journeys and connects 382 cities, towns and villages across the kingdom. The national network caters to seven cities (Riyadh, Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Taif, Dammam and Assir). SAPTCO also offers daily international services to nine countries in the region including Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. In early 2010 SAPTCO and RATP Dev announced that they had signed a strategic partnership for the fully expanding public transport market in Saudi Arabia. SAPTCO and RATP Dev also intend to combine forces to bid for subsequent tenders in particular for identified projects in the kingdom s leading towns and cities. 10
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