FRANCE
A new partnership between the Go-Ahead Group and French operator Groupe Lacroix & Savac will explore opportunities to bid for bus contracts in Paris. Go-Ahead said it had identified the French market as a priority under its new corporate strategy, and has entered the partnership to explore opportunities to bid together for public transport contracts in the country.
Under the partnership, the two companies will target the market for bus services in and around Paris, where the city authorities have begun a process of putting routes out to tender as state-owned RATP will lose its Paris bus monopoly in 2025.
Lacroix & Savac is an established operator in the Île-de-France region with more than 80 years’ experience. It is part of CFTR (Compagnie française des transports régionaux), a national mobility operator based in Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Normandy and Hauts-de-France.It is a major player in the Ile-de-France transport market, with a circa €200m turnover and 2,200 employees in 2021. It was formed from the merger of former Île-de-France operators Savac and Lacroix.
Christian Schreyer, Group Chief Executive, The Go-Ahead Group, said: “Go-Ahead’s strength lies in running busy commuter transport services, and a key part of our strategy is to explore new opportunities in bus and light rail. With an outstanding track record and deep local knowledge, Lacroix & Savac is the perfect partner for us to work with in France.”
Stéphane Guenet, President of Lacroix & Savac, said: “This partnership will allow us to benefit from Go-Ahead’s expertise in mass transit and in entering urban areas that are newly open to competition. This will help us to adapt our offering for the Paris and suburban bus networks, which will be operated on behalf of Île-de-France Mobilités.”
