The Ardenne Metropolitan Authority has renewed its contract with RATP Dev—an RATP Group subsidiary—to manage the TAC public transit network for a term of 7.5 years, starting on 17 July 2024.
Presiding over 57 municipalities with a combined population of 120,000 local residents, the Ardenne Metropolitan Authority is committed to economic growth and regional development within its jurisdiction, and the TAC public transit network is an important driver of that development.
Through its subsidiary CTCM, RATP Dev has operated the network since 2012, and has successfully assisted with its restructuring by proposing changes to the sales offer that have resulted in consistently rising ridership numbers since 2015. RATP Dev intends to continue pursuing this progress and aims to exceed 2.7 million passengers annually by 2031.
A network serving the progress of local areas
To continue to offer residents of the metropolitan area a network that is ever-more reliable, useful, and accessible, RATP Dev will further develop several aspects of its offer.
Communication will be increasingly digitalised over the term of the public service delegation to provide passengers with access to information that is ever-more precise and readily available. The shift to digital communication will include an overhaul of the website bustac.fr, as well as the launch of a new mobile app providing access to the entire range of mobility services. Efforts to enhance communication will take tangible form with the creation of mobility centres.
The RATP Dev teams will reach out to local residents; organising discussion forums with students from local schools to instil them with an awareness of correct and responsible behaviour, and by hosting meetings over coffee to discuss mobility issues with senior citizens.
A network that is responsible and committed to quality
Social and environmental responsibility is an important commitment for both the Ardenne Metropolitan Authority and RATP Dev. As part of that commitment, they jointly inaugurated an Oleo100 fuel tank in April 2023. Oleo100 is a biofuel 100% produced from French rapeseed as an alternative to fossil fuels. This is a meaningful and practical materialisation of their shared commitment to the energy transition and the fight against climate change.
RATP Dev plans to continue on this path by fuelling all the vehicles in the fleet with biofuels. That ambition is further evidenced by the decision to take steps to obtain the CO2 charter. The determination to obtain certification will also apply to our quality approach.
"Our initiatives in the Ardenne Metropolitan Area since 2012 perfectly illustrate our approach to serving the local areas: improving the service for passengers, reaching out to local residents, working towards economic and cultural goals, and contributing to the decarbonisation of the metropolitan area. Mobility is a strong driver of local development for all municipal authorities. We will be careful to keep this progress going. The project we have jointly constructed with the Ardenne Metropolitan Authority since 2012 demonstrates that commitment, and we are honoured by their trust in us," said Serge Reynaud, RATP Dev Executive Director France-Switzerland.