The Mobility Syndicate of the Basque Country Conurbation Community has entrusted RATP Dev Pays Basque Adour (RD PBA), a subsidiary of RATP Dev, with the public service delegation contract to manage the TXIK TXAK “coastal” transport network for a term of eight years and four months starting September 1, 2024.
Redesigned to optimise intermodality and improve network performance, the new transport offer aims to be more appealing and accessible for almost 340,000 local residents in the 161 towns and cities in the Basque Country and the Southern Landes region.
The Mobility Syndicate of the Basque Country Conurbation Community and RD PBA wish to encourage travelers to use public transit rather than their private car to get around and thereby reduce the environmental impact of travel in the region.
Serge Reynaud, RATP Dev Executive Director France-Switzerland, said: "At RATP Dev, helping cities make the energy transition is in our very DNA. We are delighted that the Mobility Syndicate of the Basque Country Conurbation Community trusts our expertise and ability to support them in this undertaking. Together, we aim to reduce the number of journeys made by private car in the region by 52% between now and 2030. The modernisation of the TXIK TXAK network will play a crucial role in achieving that objective because it offers a genuine alternative to the use of private cars."
Supporting the ambitious vision of the Mobility Syndicate of the Basque Country Conurbation Community
One of the main challenges of this "coastal" public service delegation will be reorganising the TXIK TXAK network throughout the region on January 6, 2025.
For the "coastal" sector assigned to RD PBA, updating the offer will lead to a production increase of 20% in public transit kilometers.
As part of these changes, the new offer will be composed as follows:
- The bus routes will be simplified for clarity and will include more direct journeys.
- The service will be available all day on all the bus routes in the network.
- The frequency of the main bus routes will be improved for commuters with services available earlier in the morning and later in the evening.
- Eight dedicated bus routes will be set up to serve the commuting needs of major employers.
- Lastly, the decarbonisation of the Mobility Syndicate of the Basque Country Conurbation Community bus fleet (over 140 vehicles) will result in a fully electric network in 2032, at the end of this "coastal" public service delegation contract. Electric buses currently make up 40% of the fleet.
