1. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 1 Marketing as a key point of public transport development Seconde conférence Franco-Chinoise sur les systèmes de transport urbains durables Shanghaï, 10-11 novembre 2009 Christian Coddet, Vice-President Christian Proust, President Marc Rovigo, Director Transports à Haut Niveau de Service pour des villes à faible émission de carbone

2. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 2 Marketing as a key point of public transport development 1- Introduction 2- Analysis of the situation 3- Political decisions 4- Actions 5- Results 6- Conclusion and perspectives Content Christian Coddet

3. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 3 Where are we ? Introduction France Germany Switzerland Belfort

4. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 4 Who are we ? A few numbers: - 56 000 families - 150 000 inhabitants - 650 km 2 Introduction A public body in charge of all questions of public transportation in the region of « Territoire de Belfort » Belfort

5. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 5 Our missions Introduction To developp, to organize, to finance public transportation To provide: - Transportation for pupils - Tranportation in the urban area (about 90 000 inhabitants) - Transportation in the suburban areas (about 30 000 inhab.) - Transportation in the remote areas (about 30 000 inhab.) - Transportation of disabled persons

6. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 6 Analysis of the situation Observation of the new team in charge of the SMTC in 2006 : A dramatic decrease (2 millions) in the number of passengers during the last 10 years, i.e. – 30% ! Less passengers Lower revenue Higher cost Degraded service ? The system was entered in a spiral of regression

7. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 7 Voiture particulière 68,2% Analysis of the situation Others 0,9% 2 wheels 1,7% Public transport 5,6% Walk 23,7% Cars 68,1% An overwhelming role of private cars for daily travels

8. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 8 Marketing expenses were extremely low versus general commercial practices Analysis of the situation 2006 budget 7% 31% 49% 12% 1% Subcontracting Personnel General Fuel and maintenance Marketing: < 1% People were considered as « users » rather than clients of the service; they desserved little attention

9. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 9 Fares structure was very complex: 75 different rates ! Analysis of the situation Selling practices were also very counterproductive: a large number of inboard selling reduced dramatically the commercial speed of buses 53% 13% 34% Single ticket Prepaid Monthly pass

10. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 10 Additional general observation Analysis of the situation Public tranportation is an activity sector where production (a number of seats x km) is little or even not valued. Less than 10 % of the capacity is generally used ! The service is predominantly used by - People dispensed from paying fares (social cases) - School pupils - People having no other solution (no car)

11. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 11 Think service first rather than infrastructure Restore the image of public transportation Incite rather than constrain To get out of the decline, strong political decisions had to be taken NB: The concept of « public service » has also to be precised: concerning transportation, it cannot be an equal opportunity for each citizen ignoring the reality of the local situation. Political decisions

12. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 Since January 2008, more than 100 new passes are created each week. Citizen are waiting for a service; the offer should then be a mobility contract with easy access. Therefore, the first decision was to create a free, life lasting pass : the “Pass Optymo”. Actions

13. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 13 PASS OPTYMO Actions - Free and simple : the bus as you wish and when you wish. - Post payment : the client receives a monthly invoice. - Limited payment : 0.8 €/travel with a maximum of 31 €/month full fare (from 39 rides, bus is free); there is also a reduced fare of 9 €/month for kids and social purpose (bus is free after 12 rides).

14. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 14 To ease life: the post payment Actions Bank transfer computer Calculation with limitation at 31 or 9 € Cash Invoice

15. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 15 Public transport requires a dynamic and positive image to be developped. A brand name was thus created in order to promote the service. Actions

16. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 Strong marketing actions were taken Actions Marketing budget was first multiplied by 4 for prospection, animation, clients rewards, partneships, … Accordingly, the « product » was also « packaged » with a new look and reorganized (staying within the same global budget)

17. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 17 To sell more, fees were reduced 20062009% Single ticket 1.10 €0.80 €- 27% Maximun monthly fare 56.40 €31.00 €- 45% Actions Once seats-km are produced, it’s better if they are used ! Please, get in !

18. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 18 Partnership is now being developped with companies and administrations Comité d’Etablissement Actions

19. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 19 and also with shops and merchants Tickets can be prepaid and offered by shop keepers in a special « gift » packaging Actions

20. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 20 Results The results Number of Pass Optymo delivered versus time Month Number

21. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 21 The results Results 1 million more passengers in 2008

22. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 22 For the first year (2008), the « Pass Optymo accounted for 85% of travels Results An average of 6500 invoices were edited each month (invoices are not emitted below 10 €) –2/3 were settled by bank tranfer –1.25 % remained unpaid –The mean direct cost of an invoice was 0.14 € - 25% were free rides for pupils - 60 % were normal and reduced fares

23. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 23 Now a virtuous circle seems to have replaced the regression spiral Offer: bus*km  +35% Demand: ride*km  +45% Cost per passenger:  -13% Conclusion Numbers as in September 2009

24. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 24 And what next ? Conclusion - One objective is to reach 16% of transportation share within 10 years (from 5.6% in 2007). - The other is to propose a real right to public transportation on all of the territory (with of course different systems and conditions between urban, suburban and remote areas). New marketing methods are still being developped such as: - Ticketing by SMS (already a success !) - Modulation of fares - …

25. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 Our project : to open in Belfort a new route for the development of public transportation and thus move towards a more sustainable transportation system Conclusion

26. THNS – Shanghai – 10 -11 Nov. 2009 Part of the studies and technical developments were made in partnership with UTBM, the University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard