Ali Debabi (Transdev Occitanie): “Very honestly, it’s a pride to be here in Millau”

Le directeur “transport”, Transdev Occitanie Littoral, Ali Debabi. AD

New concessionaire of the Millau urban network, Transdev will deploy its new offer from September 1, 2024. 

Six years after your arrival in Millau, you have just been chosen as the future concessionaire of the offer public transport. Did the fact of being previously established in the city of the glove facilitate your application ?  

We had the advantage of being able to best gauge the needs and expectations of users. To learn lessons – thanks in particular to a mobility survey launched a little over a year ago – to support the community in its specifications. Ambitious specifications which result in the creation of a new line, more sustained cadences, better served neighborhoods and ease of use. A more readable offer. 

An offer which primarily responds to schools which constitute the majority of the network's attendance. 

The free admission granted to students under 26 has caused attendance to explode, that's a fact. We have nearly 1,000 school subscribers today. It’s our biggest activity and it’s normal to continue in this direction. But we also have users over 60 years old, loyal, on useful and social trips (shopping centers, cultural places, hospital) and for whom we have also evolved the offer for ;nbsp;be closer to their expectations.  

By serving the Julié district, with schedules more in line with "office hours", you are also betting on & #39;encourage Millavois workers to take the bus. 

Yes. Let's say that it's a set of things that should allow us to create new habits, to make us want to use public transport. We are progressing and we continue to progress. Particularly among the youngest who remain the core target of all communities. When we accustom our youth to taking public transport, we have created the user of tomorrow. 

Users who will discover new buses. 

This is indeed the case. We are renewing the entire fleet with three 85-seat buses and three others, 12 meters long, with a capacity of 115 seats. Buses that run on synthetic diesel (100% recycled vegetable oil) which consume less and better. 

All for unchanged prices ?  

It's emotionally the choice of the community. With a controlled monthly subscription (set at 15 euros; editor's note) but no annual subscription because we have decided to apply the degression on the monthly price while leaving the possibility to users stop at any time. We are really confident in our offer. 

For the community, the cost of the service has increased substantially. From 750,000 € approximately at just over 1 million euros. How do you explain this increase ? 

By everything we talked about. A better offer, a new line, a better timing, a simplification also with an identical reading of the timetable during the week and on holidays. There is also talk of a new fleet of vehicles.

So you are satisfied? 

Yes. I will even go beyond that. Quite honestly, it’s a source of pride for us to be present here. I love this network, I come here very often because beyond the notion of turnover, there is here a notion of attachment, a proximity with the com'com and the actors themselves. Those who travel and who make this network quite unique. The size of this network also allows us to test new things. I remember the implementation of on-demand transport on the old DSP, the integration of scooters on the application. The size of Millau gives us a certain agility and will allow us to adjust our new offer if necessary. 

What can we say about the application that must accompany the deployment of the new offer on September 1, 2024 ?

The previous application (Moove It Editor's note) was not complete enough, only informing us about theoretical times. The next one will solve this problem with passenger information with precision at the moment T which will also integrate all forms of mobility, from bus to train… 

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