RATP Group facts for kids
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RATP Group’s headquarters in Paris
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| EPIC | |
| Industry | Public transport |
| Founded | January 1, 1949 in Paris |
| Headquarters |
Paris
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France
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Jean Castex (CEO) |
| Revenue | €5.704 billion (2019) |
| Owner | government of France |
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Number of employees
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64,000 (2019) |
| Subsidiaries |
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The RATP Group (French: Groupe RATP), is a French state-owned enterprise (EPIC) that operates public transport systems. It is headquartered in Paris, France, and originally operated under the name Régie autonome des transports parisiens (English: Parisian Autonomous Transport Administration). Its logo represents, in a stylized version, the Seine's meandering through the Paris area as the face of a person looking up. The company had described itself as the fourth-largest presence in public transport.
RATP Group was established in 1949 with the express purpose of operating Paris' public transport system. During the twentieth century, it focused solely on the provision of the capital's various forms of transit, from the Paris Métro, Île-de-France tram, and the RATP bus network, as well as part of the regional express rail (RER) network. However, since 2002, RATP Group's operations have no longer been geographically restricted; it has competitively pursued contracts to operate transit systems around the world. It also had a partnership with, and a minority shareholding in, Transdev, which has further involved RATP Group in various global transport operations. During 2002, RATP Dev was created as the Group's dedicated international operations and maintenance subsidiary; it is present in 16 countries across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.
RATP Group's Paris-related activities are still a major part of its business through to the present day; in 2019, it was recorded that, in the Île-de-France region, it carried roughly 3.3 billion passengers per year. In 2019, RAPT Group's consolidated revenue was €5.704 billion; it employed 64,000 people at that time. In recent decades, the company has operated on an increasingly competitive basis as a result of legislative changes.
History
The RATP was created on 1 January 1949 by combining the assets of the Compagnie du Chemin de fer Métropolitain de Paris (CMP), which operated the Paris Métro, and the Société des Transports en Commun de la Région Parisienne (STCRP), which operated the city's bus system.
Prior to this, the CMP had absorbed the Nord-Sud Company in 1930 and the Ligne de Sceaux in 1937, which operated commuter rail to the suburbs. The STCRP had been created on 1 January 1921 by the merger of about half a dozen independent bus and streetcar operators in the Paris area. By the time the STCRP was merged into the RATP, all of its streetcars had been replaced by bus routes.
Shift towards competitive operations
A major change in French law came on 3 November 2009, when article 5 of the ARAF (French rail regulatory body) law came into effect. This law opens public transport operation to competition. The law was part of a broader push by the European Union to open all passenger transport operation to competition. Under this law, the RATP Group lost the exclusive right to operate all new public transport lines immediately. The company's exclusive operation rights for existing lines would expire over time, with the bus network going out to bid 15 years later in 2024, the tram network (Lines T1, T2 & T3) going out to bid 20 years later in 2029, and the Metro and RER lines out to bid 30 years later in 2039.
With the RATP anticipating this shift to a competitive environment, the company began to reorganize itself.
In the early years of the 21st century, a partnership with Transdev resulted in RATP acquiring a minority shareholding in that group, with its many worldwide transport operations. However, in 2009, the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, the majority owner of the Transdev, started negotiations with Veolia to merge Transdev with Veolia Transport. As part of the resulting agreement, made in May 2010, it was agreed that RATP would take over ownership of some of Transdev's operations in lieu of cash payment for its holdings in Transdev. This gave RATP a considerable number of international operations.
In 2009, RATP entered the United States by purchasing transit contractor McDonald Transit Associates. McDonald operated Fort Worth Transportation Authority (now Trinity Metro) in Texas, Votran in Florida, and Waco Transit System in Texas, among others. On 1 August 2011, the RATP Group purchased Stagecoach Metrolink's contract to operate the Metrolink light rail system in Greater Manchester, England until July 2017. Two years later, in 2013, RATP purchased the nearby long-established coach company, Selwyns Travel, a National Express operator.
Presidents
The current president and CEO of the RATP, Jean Castex, is in office since 28 November 2022.
Operations in Paris
In Paris, RATP operates, under its own name, on behalf of and under contract with Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the Paris region transit authority. RATP's services constitute, in their own right, a multi-mode public transportation infrastructure, but also contribute to a larger multi-mode system extending out into the surrounding Île-de-France communities.
RATP's services in the Greater Paris area include:
- The Paris Métro, a system of mostly underground rapid transit lines which run throughout the city, with some lines extending somewhat beyond the city boundaries. The Métro has 16 lines with 226.9 km (141.0 mi) of track and 308 stations. Two metro lines are fully automated and driverless: Line 1 (since 2012), Line 4 (since 2023) and Line 14 (since its opening in 1998).
- Orlyval, the automated shuttle serving Orly Airport.
- Parts of the RER, the Paris regional express rail network that runs mostly underground in the centre of Paris and overground in the rest of the region. RATP owns and operates most of lines A and B, both together representing approximately 115 km (71 mi) and 66 stations. The rest of the RER network is operated by SNCF.
- Nine out of the fourteen lines of the Paris tram system (T1, T2, T3a, T3b, T5, T6, T7, T8, T10) totaling 109.6 km (68.1 mi) and 197 stops.
- The extensive Paris city bus system (351 lines with a total length of 3,861 km (2,399 mi)), including the night buses of the Noctilien network.
- Two BRT lines: the Trans-Val-de-Marne (TVM, 19.7 km (12.2 mi)) and line 393 (11.7 km (7.3 mi)).
- The Montmartre funicular.
Paris bus route 341 was RATP's first line equipped with 100% electric full-size buses (starting June 2016). By early 2021, there were over 150 full battery electric buses in the fleet with a target of 1,500 by 2025.
Operations outside Paris
RATP Dev (Dev being a contraction of Développement, French for development), established in 2002 as a 100% subsidiary of the RATP Group, provides operations and maintenance of passenger transport services outside of the "historical" RATP network in the Greater Paris area although it also operates some specialised services within Paris. RATP Dev is present in France as well as in 15 other countries, namely Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Egypt, Hong Kong, Italy, Morocco, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Wholly and partly owned operations include the following:
Operations in France
Heavy rail
- Future CDG Express, express rail link between Paris Gare de l'Est and Charles de Gaulle Airport (in the Hello Paris joint venture with Keolis)
Other modes
- Agglobus, the network of Bourges in the Cher department (since 2011, renewed for the 2017–2022 period, and again renewed for the 2023-2030 period)
- ALPBUS, operating various school, shuttle and coach services as well as fixed routes services including, among others, the bus network serving Cluses and cross-border services between France and Switzerland with routes connecting Annecy, Thonon-les-Bains and Sallanches with Geneva Airport
- The Bibus multimodal network in and around Brest including the Brest tramway and Brest cable car, in the Finistère department (for the 2019-2027 period)
- Cars Jacquemard, a coach operator in the Eure department
- Cars Perrier, one of the operators of the Sqybus network serving the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines suburb near Paris
- The CTRL network of Lorient Agglomération in the Morbihan department (for the 2018-2022 period)
- Com'Bus, Yvelines and Val-d'Oise departments
- The Impulsyon network of La Roche-sur-Yon in the Vendée department (since 2010, renewed for the 2017–2023 period)
- The Irigo multimodal in and around Angers including the Angers tramway (for the 2019-2025 period)
- The Kicéo network of Vannes in the Morbihan department (for the 2017-2023 period)
- Lignes de Vienne et agglomération (L'va) in and around Vienne in the Isère department (since 2011)
- Le Vib in Vierzon in the Cher department (since 2011, renewed in 2015 for 8 more years)
- The Marinéo network of Boulogne-sur-Mer in the Pas-de-Calais department (since 2013, renewed in 2021 for another 6 years)
- The Mistral network of Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée area in the Var department
- Mouvéo, the network of Épernay in the Marne department (since 2016)
- Ondéa, the network of Aix-les-Bains and its surroundings in the Savoie department (since 2014, renewed in 2021 for another 7 years)
- "RIO 4", regional and school bus services in the Oise department (since 2021)
- TAAM, paratransit in and around Amiens in the Somme department (since 2021)
- Transports annemassiens collectifs (TAC), the network covering the Agglomeration community of Annemasse – Les Voirons (joint control with TPG)
- Transports de l'agglomération de Charleville-Mézières (TAC), the network of Charleville-Mézières and Sedan in the Ardennes department (since 2012, renewed for the 2017–2024 period)
- TBK bus and coach network covering Quimperlé and surroundings in the Finistère department (for the 2020-2028 period)
- Transports urbains laonnois (TUL), the network of Laon in the Aisne department (since 2016, renewed for the 2023–2029)
- Transports urbains lavallois (TUL), the network of Laval in the Mayenne department (for the 2023-2031 period)
Operations outside France
Heavy rail
- Gautrain, regional express train in Gauteng province, South Africa, linking Johannesburg, Pretoria and O. R. Tambo International Airport (since 2010)
- "La Ferroviaria Italiana", two regional rail lines in Tuscany, Italy (minority share)
- Cairo-New Cairo railway, regional rail service between Cairo and the new administrative capital of Egypt (since 2022)
Metro and tramway
- Tramway networks in the Algerian cities of Algiers (since 2012), Oran (since 2013), Constantine (since 2013), Sidi Bel Abbès (since 2017), Ouargla (since 2018) and Sétif (since 2018)
- Future Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport, Australia (15 years of operations and maintenance starting 2026)
- Cairo Metro Line 3, Cairo, Egypt (for the 2020-2035 period)
- DC Streetcar, Washington, D.C., United States (since 2016)
- Florence tramway, Florence, Italy (since 2010)
- Casablanca LRT, Casablanca, Morocco (since 2012, contract renewed in 2017 until the end of 2029)
- Hong Kong Tramways, Hong Kong (since 2009)
- Manila Line 1, Manila, Philippines (technical assistance, since 2014)
- MATA Trolley, Memphis, Tennessee, United States (since 2021)
- Sun Link Streetcar, Tucson, Arizona, United States (since 2013, renewed in 2019)
- Doha Metro and Lusail LRT, Qatar (20-year contract through RKH Qitarat, joint venture formed by Hamad Group (51%) and Keolis-RATP Dev (49%))
- Future Riyadh Metro Lines 1 and 2 (12-year contract)
Bus and coach
Italy
- Tuscany regional bus network including 4,800 employees, 2,700 vehicles and 57 depots, via the Autolinee Toscane subsidiary (since 1 November 2021, for a duration of 11 years)
- Cilia Italia, Lazio
United Kingdom
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RATP Dev's presence in the United Kingdom is mainly concentrated in London with its portfolio of bus services on behalf of Transport for London. Through its three subsidiaries London United, Quality Line (acquired as Epsom Coaches in April 2012) and London Sovereign (acquired in April 2014), RATP Dev manages 1129 vehicles on 96 routes out of 10 garages, and has 3387 employees, as of 2020. Early 2021, RATP Dev announced that it is to close its Quality Line subsidiary and Epsom depot. The closure was effective as of July 2021.
On 16 June 2021, the firm announced it had placed an order for 195 electric buses for its London operations to be delivered jointly by Alexander Dennis and BYD Auto, the by then largest ever full battery electric bus order in the UK.
On 22 September 2021, RATP Dev and SeaLink Travel Group (now Kelsian Group) announced that their respective West London bus operations (including London United, London Sovereign and Tower Transit's Westbourne Park garage) would merge into a new joint venture called RATP Dev Transit London, with RATP Dev holding 87.5% of shares and SeaLink 12.5%. The incorporation of the joint venture was finalised on 11 December 2021. Tower Transit's Lea Interchange garage, located in East London, was not part of the joint venture and remained unaffected until sold off separately to Stagecoach London.
Outside of London, RATP Dev manages, since 2011, the Air Decker, a bus service operated by Bath Bus Company connecting Bristol Airport with Bath.
United States
RATP operates various transit systems in the United States under the name RATP Dev USA:
- Arlington Entertainment Area Management District Trolley, Arlington, Texas
- Asheville Rides Transit (ART), North Carolina (since 2017)
- Augusta, Georgia (since 2013)
- Bloomington Transit, Indiana
- Bowling Green, Kentucky (since 2020)
- Mountain Mobility, Buncombe County, North Carolina (paratransit, since 2011, renewed in 2020)
- Camarillo Area Transit, California (since 2018)
- Charlotte Area Transit System, North Carolina (bus only)
- Citibus, Lubbock, Texas
- Citylink Edmond, Oklahoma (since 2014)
- City of Lompoc Transit, California (since 2018)
- City of Ocala SunTran, Marion County, Florida
- The COMET, South Carolina (since 2020)
- Hartford, New Haven, and Stamford Divisions of CTtransit, Connecticut (management contract since 2023)
- DC Circulator, Washington, D.C. (six routes and 72 vehicles, since 2018)
- GoDurham, Durham, North Carolina (since 2023)
- GoRaleigh and GoRaleigh Access, Raleigh, North Carolina (since 2023)
- Greensboro Transit Authority, Greensboro, North Carolina (since 2022)
- IndyGo, Indianapolis, Indiana (paratransit only, since 2021)
- LakeXpress, Lake County, Florida (seven fixed routes, paratransit and 54 vehicles, management contract since 2017)
- Lextran Wheels Paratransit, Lexington, Kentucky (since 2022)
- Memphis Area Transit Authority, Memphis, Tennessee (since 2021)
- Needles Area Transit, California
- Santa Maria Area Transit (SMAT), Santa Maria, California, U.S. (management contract since 2018)
- THE Bus, Hernando County, Florida
- TheBus, Prince George's County, Maryland (since 2020)
- Trinity Metro, Fort Worth, Texas
- VCTC Intercity, California (since 2018)
- Wake County, North Carolina (since 2023)
- Waco Transit System, Waco, Texas
- Yuma County Area Transit, Yuma, Arizona (since 2018)
- Zion National Park, Utah, shuttle system (since 2000, renewed in 2020)
Saudi Arabia
- All of Riyadh's urban bus network which will progressively grow to about 100 lines and 1,000 vehicles over three depots. RATP Dev and its Saudi Arabian partner SAPTCO have established the network since 2014 and launched revenue service in March 2023
- Autonomous shuttles in Al-'Ula, on behalf of the Royal Commission for Al-'Ula (since 2022)
Switzerland
- HelveCié, operating various school, shuttle and coach services in the cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Neuchâtel and Vaud
- Various bus and coach services as subcontractor to Geneva's transit operator TPG
- Cross-border services between Switzerland and France including services connecting Annecy, Thonon-les-Bains et de Sallanches with Geneva Airport
Tootbus
RATP Dev operates hop-on hop-off tours using double-decker buses under the Tootbus brand in several cities:
- Tootbus Paris (formerly "Paris L'OpenTour")
- Tootbus London (formerly The Original Tour, acquired in September 2014)
- Tootbus Bath operated by Bath Bus Company in Bath, Cardiff, Eastbourne and Windsor
- Tootbus Brussels (since November 2021 with up to 12 fully battery-electric vehicles, as part of an eight-year concession granted by STIB)
Other
Since 2013, RATP Dev, in a consortium with TPG and Pomagalski, manages the Salève cable car, in the French Alps. Ridership of the cable car has increased by 50% since 2013, notably after the introduction of shuttle buses from Annemasse and Saint-Julien-en-Genevois. The contract of the RATP Dev-led consortium has been renewed in 2019 for 12 additional years, until 2031.
RATP Dev established in 2018 a "regional office" in Singapore for Asia-Pacific albeit not having any operational activity in the city-state. In December 2020, RATP Dev and SBS Transit announced a partnership for future rail projects in Singapore, without referencing specific commercial targets. RATP Dev and SBS Transit are expected to bid for operations and maintenance of the future Jurong Region MRT line and the future Cross Island MRT line.
In September 2020, RATP Dev announces a partnership with Getlink to jointly bid under the "Régionéo" brand name for regional rail services in France which will gradually opened to competitive tendering.
In February 2023, Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners (STCP), one of the two private sector teams executing the project development agreement with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the future Sepulveda Transit Corridor, announced to have selected RATP Dev as its operations and maintenance partner.
Former operations
(selection / non comprehensive list)
- Algiers Metro (from 1 November 2011 to 31 October 2020)
- São Paulo Metro Line 4: technical assistance for start-up and the launch of commercial operations in 2010 and 1% share in the concessionnaire ViaQuatro until 2015
- Rio de Janeiro Light Rail: technical assistance for start-up and the launch of commercial operations in 2016
- Anqing Zhongbei buses in Anqing, China (as part of RDTA from 2008 to ?)
- Shenyang trams (as part of RDTA from 2013 to ?)
- Line 9 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway (as part of RDTA from 2009 to 2019)
- Line 1 of the Mumbai Metro (as part of RDTA from 2014 to 2019)
- Aléo, the urban bus network of Moulins in the Allier department (from 2012 to 2019)
- STI Allier et STI Nièvre, France (ceased to Prêt à Partir in 2018)
- The Transvilles multimodal network in and around Valenciennes, including the Valenciennes tramway (from 2015 to the end of 2022)
- Manchester Metrolink (from August 2011 to July 2017)
- Selwyns Travel: coach operator with 92 vehicles based in Manchester, Runcorn and St Helens, England (acquired in 2013 and sold in 2020).
- "Slide", an on-demand shared transport / microtransit service targeting commuters in Bristol, England (from July 2016 to December 2018, in partnership with French start-up Padam)
- "Slide Ealing" in London (from November 2019 to mid-2020, in partnership with MOIA)
- Yellow Buses, a bus operator in Bournemouth, England (from 2011 to July 2019).
- Fullington Auto Bus Company, State College, Pennsylvania, U.S.: acquired in 2009 and sold in 2017
- Open Loop New York: hop on hop off tour company in New York City commenced in May 2014, ceded to Big Bus Tours in 2017
- Capital MetroBus in Austin, Texas: 79 routes, 250 buses, 21 million passengers/year, from 2012 to early 2020.
- Votran in Volusia County, Florida (until 2020)
- Mountain Metropolitan Transit, Colorado Springs, Colorado (until early 2023)
See also
In Spanish: Administración Autónoma de Transportes Parisinos para niños
