Greater Paris’ public transport authority (PTA), Île-de-France mobilités, awarded the Keolis Group a new operating contract for Fileo, the on- demand transport service for the Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport hub, and two Express airport lines.

The contract will start on Jan. 1, 2018 for a period of six years and will generate an accumulated revenue of 77 million euros ($92 million). Patronage on the Fileo network is expected to increase by more than 70 percent by 2023.

As part of the new public service delegation contract, Keolis will implement in partnership with the PTA, a new on-demand mobility service offer integrating innovative services such as electronic ticketing, car sharing and shared vehicles run by LeCab, Keolis’ private driver subsidiary. In accordance with the PTA’s objectives regarding energy transition, the fleet of vehicles will operate entirely using natural gas (NGV - bio-NGV) from 2020 onwards.

On-demand transport is a key element in the current suite of mobility solutions, particularly in residential and employment zones such as the Paris-CDG airport hub. This region, totalling 100 square miles, is home to close to 43,000 companies providing more than 300,000 jobs. It is one of the most economically dynamic in the Greater Paris region.

Fileo is the largest on-demand transport service in Europe, carrying over 380,000 passengers per year. This service is essential to meet the mobility needs of the 555,000 inhabitants spread over 28 communes in the area surrounding the airport.

The local transport authority, Île-de-France mobilités, which strongly supports the development of public transport in the Greater Paris region, has entrusted Keolis with the roll-out of a flexible, on-demand mobility offer, adapted to the specific economic and regional constraints of this area, which include:

• A large number of employees that do shift work or work at night.

• A population heavily dependent on public transport to get around on a daily basis.

• Companies dispersed across different zones.

Keolis aims to make Fileo a more flexible transport service, better adapted to mobility needs in the region. It is therefore taking advantage of synergies with other modes of transport such as the bus, mini-bus and shared vehicles developed by LeCab. For example, in partnership with Instant System, a collaborative car-sharing platform, Keolis will be introducing an online interface for drivers and potential passengers. These new services were conceived using a multimodal approach, and complement existing public bus lines. Indeed the 10 lines of the Fileo network replace regular bus lines in the evening and at night, thus allowing airport employees to access their workplace 24 hours a day.

Keolis is working to simplify the customer experience, with the development of a new website, a mobile app with real-time passenger information (routes - timetables), and the introduction of a new call center for passenger information.

As part of this new contract, Keolis will also operate the Express bus lines connecting with CDG airport and will be in charge of building a new environmentally-friendly depot in Mesnil-Amelot.