Keolis

Keolis is a multinational transportation company that operates public transport systems. The company manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus and funicular services.

Based in Paris, France, the company is 70% owned by SNCF and 30% owned by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Locations

Keolis operates a number of networks in France ( Transports Bordeaux Métropole in Bordeaux, the Lyon public transport on behalf of SYTRAL, the public transport service for the Greater Rennes area since 1998, Transpole in Lille and the entire mobility chain in Dijon).

Internationally, it manages buses in several cities in Sweden, central and eastern regions of the Netherlands, commuter trains in Boston, the Las Vegas bus network, the Hyderabad automated metro, the Melbourne tramway, the Docklands Light Railway in London, the Pujiang Shanghai Metro and the Manchester Metrolink tramway.

In 2018, the company generated revenues of €5.9 billion and had 63,000 employees. Keolis has been led by Patrick Jeantet since February 2020.

History

Origins

Keolis was formed from several former companies:
*Société des transports automobiles, which was created in 1908, and its subsidiary Société générale des transports départementaux
*Lesexel, an electricity company created in 1911 to support the development of tramways
*Société de transports routiers de voyageurs (STRV), a subsidiary of and later SNCF, which was renamed in 1988 during its merger with STV

These companies underwent a series of reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, which resulted in two companies: , focused primarily on urban transport, and Cariane, specialized in interurban public transport.

Creation and development of Keolis in the 2000s

In 1999, SNCF became the leading shareholder in VIA-GTI, which merged with Cariane in 2001 to become Keolis.
In 2005, through its stake in GoVia, Keolis became co-owner of the South Eastern rail franchise in the United Kingdom.
In 2006, Keolis won the franchise for Hellweg Net in Germany and later on for Maas-Rhein-Lippe Net and Teutoburger-Wald Net in Deutschland and Nederland. In 2007, Keolis acquired City-Trafic in Denmark.
In 2008, Keolis took control of Eurobus Holding in Belgium. In 2009, Keolis set up operations in Melbourne, Washington, D.C., Bergen and Bordeaux.
In 2010, EFFIA (car parks company) became a Keolis subsidiary.

Since 2010

In 2012, Keolis acquired 100% of Syntus in the Netherlands and Orléans Express in Canada. The company also set up operations in Hyderabad, India. In 2013, Keolis won part of the Las Vegas urban network. In 2014, Keolis won a 30-year public-private partnership contract to maintain and operate the Ion rapid transit in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

In the same year, Keolis won the operations and maintenance contract for Metrolink, the United Kingdom's largest tramway network, in Manchester, and was also selected by Foothill Transit to operate and maintain the Municipal Transit Network for the Eastern San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County .

The company also expands in Asia, starting operation of Hyderabad's automatic air metro network, and winning, as part of a joint venture with RATP Dev and the Qatar Hamad Group, the contract to operate and maintain Qatar's first public transport network, including the operation of the future automatic metro in Doha and the tramway network in the new city of Lusail.

In 2018, Keolis started operating the Pujiang metro line (formerly known as 8.3), the first automatic metro line in the Shanghai network, and started a contract to operate the Wales & Borders rail network in Wales until the nationalisation of day to day services in February 2021, with Keolis retaining a partnership with the new national operator until the original contract expires.

Operations

Australia

Keolis holds a 51% shareholding in Keolis Downer, which has operated the Melbourne tram network since November 2009. Keolis Downer has operated the G:link light rail line on the Gold Coast since July 2014.

In March 2015, Keolis Downer purchased bus operator Australian Transit Enterprises, which operates the Hornibrook Bus Lines, LinkSA, Path Transit and SouthLink operations with 930 buses. In July 2017, Keolis Downer trading as Newcastle Transport took over the Newcastle Buses & Ferries business under a 10-year contract. Newcastle Transport also operates the Newcastle Light Rail since February 2019. In October 2019, the Government of New South Wales announced that the bus operations of State Transit were to be contracted out to the private sector. In May 2021, Keolis Downer was awarded the contract to operate Sydney Bus Region 8. Keolis Downer Northern Beaches (KDNB) commenced operating on 31 October 2021 with its contract to run for eight years.

Canada

Keolis Canada operates as a subsidiary of Keolis America. The majority of its Canadian operations are located in Montreal, where it operates the Quebec intercity bus company Orléans Express and part of the Exo Mascouche sector.

From 2004 to 2012 it also operated Acadian Lines intercity buses in The Maritimes. The latter services have since been taken over by independent operator Maritime Bus.

Keolis is a partner in the GrandLinq consortium and operator of the Ion rapid transit system in Waterloo Region, Ontario.

China

In China, Keolis and Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, the owner of Shanghai Metro, created a joint venture called Shanghai Keolis in March 2014. Shanghai Keolis started operating the Pujiang line (formerly Phase 3 of Shanghai Metro Line 8 ) in March 2018. It would also be operating Shanghai Pudong International Airport's people mover system in 2019, which will link the proposed satellite concourse building with the existing Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. as well as the Songjiang Tram within the Songjiang Region, a suburb west of Shanghai downtown, in 2020.

An agreement had been signed between Keolis and Hubei Government, and Keolis will be responsible for Greater Wuhan area's suburban railway operation.

Denmark

Keolis Danmark is the second biggest bus operator in Denmark with 500 buses and 1.500 employees, Keolis entered the Danish market in 1999 when they bought 49% of the Danish bus operator City-Trafik in 2007 City-Trafik became a wholly owned subsidiary of Keolis, in 2014 City-Trafik surprised the Danish bus industry when they announced their plans to merger with Nettbuss Danish subsidiary in a joint venture where Keolis owned 75% and Nettbuss 25%, until the merger was accepted by the Danish authorities the former City-Trafik was named ''Keolis Bus Danmark'' and the former Nettbuss Danmark was named ''Keolis Danmark'' the Danish authorities accepted the merger in late 2014 and in 2015 both the companies were merged into Keolis Danmark. It was also in 2015 that Keolis won the contract on operating the first tram in Denmark in Aarhus set to open in 2017. In 2016 Keolis SA bought the last 25% of the shares from Nettbuss AS making Keolis Danmark 100% Keolis owned

France

Keolis has extensive operations in France. It provides transit services in many cities including Bordeaux, Dijon, Lille, Lyon, Orléans