RATP Dev was awarded a contract to manage Asheville Redefines Transit (ART), the transit services for the city of Asheville, N.C. The City of Asheville selected RATP Dev through a national competitive process that awarded the contract based on best-value procurement.

Contract services are set to begin Oct. 1, 2017 and will cover an initial period of four years with two additional two-year renewal options. RATP Dev has appointed Bernadette Townsend to serve as ART’s new GM.

Under the terms of the contract, RATP Dev will directly supervise ART’s daily operations for the fixed-route bus services in Buncombe County. Presently, ART has 22 biodiesel buses in service, seven of which are hybrid, and currently run 18 routes throughout the area, servicing more than 1.4 million riders annually.

ART is RATP Dev’s  third contract in North Carolina, the others being the Charlotte Area Transit in the Queen City’s metropolitan area and Buncombe County’s Mountain Mobility.

Located in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is vibrant and historic city with a thriving arts scene and easy access to North Carolina’s natural splendor. With a population of approximately 425,000 residents in the metropolitan area, and home to the University of of North Carolina at Asheville, the city has growing public transit needs and is seeking to preserve the beauty of their stretch of the Blue Ridge Mountains with their on-going sustainable transit initiatives.