PostBus has won yet another public tender in France, north of Lyon in Villefranche sur Saône. This time, it has secured an area comprising five urban routes, four school bus routes and a dial-a-ride service. As a result, PostBus' annual turnover in France will rise by over EUR 4 million to EUR 30 million. The Villefranche operations will commence on 1 January 2010 and run for a period of six years.

The conurbation of Villefranche sur Saône, which belongs to the Rhône department, comprises four municipalities and is home to around 60,000 people. The public tender for the bus services in this area proved a major challenge for PostBus. PostBus has set itself apart from the competition with its customer-friendly timetable, ensuring optimum transfer connections.

Employees hold onto their jobs

This tender comprised five urban routes, four school bus routes and a dial-a-ride service. Furthermore, a dial-a-ride service for rural communities and one for off-peak hours were also offered.  The drivers as well as the admin and workshop staff will all keep their jobs. In addition, 14 new employees will be appointed. All in all, 71 jobs have been secured.

Fleet to be updated

An appeal period of 14 days is currently in force. Operations are set to be transferred to PostBus on 1January 2010 for a period of six years. 28 vehicles will be deployed. PostBus will be making the current scheduled services and route network more customer-friendly.  Regular services between 5.30 a.m. and 9.30 p.m. are anticipated, with optimum connections to trains bound for Lyon.  The improved service offering will come into effect with the new timetable on 23 August 2010.

One million kilometres per year

This is PostBus' second largest mandate to date in France. An anticipated 997,000 km per year will be covered by urban services and a further 50,000 km by dial-a-ride buses. The total annual turnover for the tendered routes is EUR 4.1 million. The mandate in Villefranche sur Saône is an important step towards accelerating PostBus' growth in France. PostBus has been operating in the French market since 2004 and serves five other towns and conurbations with bus networks and regional transport services. It has already established itself in three towns to the north of Lyon – Mâcon, Dole and Bourg-en-Bresse. Its latest addition in Villefranche sur Saône will enable the company to exploit further synergies in terms of production.

Further operation in Agde and new services in Grésivaudan

PostBus has also made two other successful tenders and has been able to keep its hold on the bus network in the conurbation of Agde (Hérault department). This business alone will secure an annual turnover of EUR 1.5 million for PostBus. PostBus has been running an eight-month changeover in this area since July 2009. This will transition seamlessly into a six-year regular service contract as of 1 March 2010.   

Since 1 November, PostBus has also been operating the bus routes in Grésivaudan near Grenoble, which it also won following a public tender. This is a two-year mandate which will yield an annual turnover of more than EUR 600,000. PostBus will be operating the routes with 15 employees and six buses.

11 locations and turnover of more than EUR 30 million

These latest contracts for publicly tendered bus routes are further proof that PostBus is on the right track with its growth strategy in France. It has managed to almost triple its sales in the French market compared with last year's figures. Thanks to these success stories, PostBus now operates bus networks and a tourism office (Narbonne) at 11 locations in France through its own companies. PostBus employs around 450 people in France, deploys almost 250 vehicles and generates an annual turnover of more than EUR 30 million.