The French mobility multinational Transdev has just won a second major contract in Ontario where it will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the next autonomous metro in Toronto for a period of 30 years. The company also wishes to develop the on-demand transport offer in Quebec because it is necessary to diversify mobility, estimates Arthur Nicolet, CEO of the Canadian division of the group.
It was in the offices of Transdev Canada’s head office, located in the DIX30 district in Brossard, that I met Arthur Nicolet, who has been CEO for five years in Quebec.
“We moved our head office from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu to DIX30 three years ago because we wanted to take advantage of the accessibility to the REM in order to be able to attract as many people from the region as from the city. The REM is a very nice structuring project,” agrees the mobility specialist.
Transdev is present in 17 countries and transports 11 million users daily thanks to the various rolling platforms it operates: buses, trains, trams, shuttles, metros, etc. The group, whose main shareholder is the Caisse de dépôt… de France, achieves annual revenues of 7.5 billion euros (10.5 billion CAN).
“We have been in Quebec for more than 20 years. We own the Limocar buses that provide the Sherbrooke-Montreal connection. We are also present in municipal and regional transport, notably providing service to the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and on several lines between Montreal and the South Shore as an exo partner.
“We are also in school transport in Estrie. In total, there are 1,200 employees in Quebec and a fleet of 400 vehicles, including 200 school buses. »
We have already acquired 60 Lion electric school buses, with the first orders placed in 2017. We were the first carrier to do so.
Arthur Nicolet, CEO of Transdev Canada
An Ontario Breakthrough
In 2019, Transdev Canada made a significant breakthrough in Ontario by completing the acquisition of the Voyago group, active in school and medical transportation, and by being selected as the operator-maintainer of the Hurontario tramway project in Mississauga, a system 18-kilometre light rail transit system due to begin operations in 2025.
Transdev Canada has just won another major call for tenders by obtaining the operation and maintenance contract for the new Ontario Line, a kind of Toronto REM, but from an autonomous metro that will travel 16 kilometers to reach downtown Toronto.
“We are participating in the design of the project, and commissioning is scheduled for 2030-2031. It is a big contract of 9 billion where we are partners with Plenary Group, of which the Caisse de depot et placement is a shareholder, and Hitachi. The duration of the contract is also 30 years”, explains Arthur Nicolet.
The acquisition of Voyago, a family business, has also gone well since its turnover has increased from 60 to 100 million since 2019.
Thanks to this transaction, Transdev Canada has become the leader in medical transportation in Ontario, an expertise that the CEO also wishes to develop in Quebec.
Medical transportation makes the health network more fluid. We pick up a patient at home, we bring him to perform his examination or receive treatment at the hospital, and we drive him home. This avoids cluttering the system.
Arthur Nicolet, CEO of Transdev Canada
In Ontario, Transdev generates nearly 50% of its revenue from medical transportation and the other 50% from school transportation.
Transport on demand
Transdev also provides transport on demand, a mode of travel increasingly used in the regions, but which is also approaching major centers, using cars, minibuses or even larger vehicles to move several users at the same time. .
“We have several on-demand transport networks in Ontario, and in Quebec we have started to build them to connect the South Shore to Montreal, but we could develop others,” explains the CEO.
The pandemic has significantly disrupted the context in which carriers operate, which have not returned to pre-health crisis ridership levels, still operating at 70% of the capacity recorded in 2019.
“We have fewer people during peak hours, but more during off-peak hours, it has smoothed out,” observes Arthur Nicolet.
This is why transport on demand may become an option that should be further exploited. What is the point of having a bus every 10 minutes on a line if it runs empty?
“We must better respond to the changing needs of customers, no longer just think along a line that goes from point A to point B, but study a set of mobility solutions, give the choice between several proposals”, analyzes the CEO of Transdev Canada.
The company also wants to expand its school transportation activities in Quebec through acquisition, when there are more than a hundred companies active in this sector.
“With the energy transition, there are companies that will not want to make the necessary investments to transform their fleet when we can do it. Just as there are many entrepreneurs who are going to retire. It is on this side that we look, ”explains Arthur Nicolet.