“Everything changes, nothing changes”, a mini-revolution is brewing in Lyon public transport

On January 1, 2025, public transport in Lyon will change era, a mini-revolution. Until now, only one company ran buses, metros or trams. There are two of them now. Kéolis, the historic service provider, shares the cake for the largest transport market, after Paris, with the RATP. Customers should not notice the change.

It is a market worth more than 3.5 billion euros. The Lyon public transport network is the largest in France, after that of Paris.

With four metro lines, seven tram lines and more than a hundred bus lines, the Kéolis company employed nearly 5,000 employees in Lyon to operate the equipment or maintain it.

In 2019, SYTRAL (organizing authority) responded to the recommendations of the Regional Chamber of Auditors which “encouraged us to study the advantages and disadvantages of an allotment”. Clearly, elected officials were invited to open Public Service Delegation (DSP) markets to competition.

In 2022, the DSP was proposed “in batches”. One for buses and trolleys, the other for “heavy modes”, namely metros and trams.

Following a vote, two companies were selected. Kéolis Lyon for buses, RATP for “heavy modes”.

According to Bruno Bernard, president (Les ecologists) of Sytral: “competition allowed us to obtain offers at the right price, very close to our estimates”.

The amount of contracts awarded is significant: 1.6 billion for buses, with nearly 3,000 agents and more than 2 billion for metros, with 1,600 agents.

The negotiations for these new contracts focused in particular on punctuality. Sytral indicated that “availability rates” would be reinforced from the start of the contract with “a progression over time”. Concretely, on line B, “the commitment is 99.35% in 2025 and 99.80% in 2034”. A possible improvement in sight for daily users of this line which experienced many problems when it was put into automatic mode and its extension to Hôpitaux Sud.

Punctuality, regularity and quality of public transport service constitute the main lever for the satisfaction of our travelers and the attractiveness of our networks.

Bruno Bernard, president (EELV) of Sytral

In addition to these contracts, a newcomer has appeared on the Lyon landscape. A local public company responsible for user relations was created. She will have the heavy responsibility of providing information to travelers.

In the contracts it was stipulated that “User satisfaction will be measured daily, particularly on passenger expectations: regularity and punctuality, passenger information, condition and cleanliness, user relations, comfort and access to the network.”

Usage will tell whether the two operators, competitors, will agree to meet common challenges such as, for example, during a metro breakdown with the rapid implementation of relay buses.

Despite official press releases welcoming this new distribution of tasks, a major change is coming. An important change, a hard blow and a loss of earnings for the historic operator in Lyon. Kéolis carved out the “share of Lyon”, we will now have to share the cake.

By arriving in the capital of Gaul, the RATP is laying the foundations for the future, which, on several occasions, had applied to win these contracts.

As provided by law, employees should not suffer any consequences from these changes. But some will therefore be employed by the RATP, while others will remain under the Kéolis flag. Salaries and benefits should be maintained.

One unknown remains: the quality of social dialogue. In the past, numerous strike movements had disrupted the network. The director of the RATP Dev Lyon assured that he wanted “establish a transparent dialogue and guarantee the social base.” For her part, Marie-Ange Debon, President of the Management Board of the KEOLIS Group, indicated that she wanted to make Keolis Lyon “a company with a mission which will support the ambitions of SYTRAL Mobilités on a social, societal and environmental level.”

For users, nothing will change on a daily basis. Titles, subscriptions, Allo Tcl… Everything will remain the same, “it will be transparent for our customers”, we assure the operators.