The operator Keolis (SNCF group) has been appointed to operate one of the first three bus networks to be opened up to competition in the inner suburbs of Paris, while incumbent operator RATP retains the other two, the Paris transport authority announced on Tuesday. Keolis has been appointed to operate 39 bus lines, 3 transport-on-demand lines and 2 express lines, serving 600,000 inhabitants in an area known as the “Ile-de-France”. “Marne et Briemainly in Seine-et-Marne, with some in Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne, notably in the communes of Chelles, Pontault-Combault and Emerainville, with lines running as far as Raincy, Noisy-le-Grand and Ozoir-la-Ferrière, Ile de France Mobilités (IDFM) detailed in a press release.

Keolis is 70% owned by SNCF Participation and 30% by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Operation will start on August 1, 2025 for part of the lines, and on November 1, 2025 for another part. Operation will last seven years, until July 30, 2032. It may be extended for a further year. IDFM had already reported on October 25 that Keolis was “under consideration to obtain this network, which has six operational centers and 350 vehicles.

Ten other lots remain to be awarded

For its part, RATP Cap Île-de-France, a subsidiary of RATP, has won two other lots starting November 1, 2025, for a six-year period ending October 31, 2031, with the possibility of a further two-year extension. The first lot, “Boucles Nord de Seinecovers 19 bus routes in communities northwest of Paris (Asnières, Levallois-Perret, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Clichy-la-Garenne, Saint-Ouen, Argenteuil, Eaubonne, Saint-Cloud, Suresnes, Boulogne-Billancourt…), serving 1.7 million inhabitants with 280 vehicles. The second, “Bords de Marnesouth-east of Paris, covers 29 routes in 29 communes (including Bry-sur-Marne, Noisy-le Grand, Villemomble, Gagny, Fontenay-sous-Bois, Vincennes, Montreuil, Bagnolet, Bobigny, Créteil), serving some 1.2 million inhabitants with 300 vehicles.

As the transit authority, Île-de-France Mobilités delegates transport services, but also oversees the transport offer, ticketing and rolling stock. “It thus retains control over the public transport service, which it entrusts to be carried out for a limited period”.states the press release. Ten other lots remain to be awarded between now and October 2025 on the former RATP monopoly. The most strategic Paris routes will be awarded last. In the inner suburbs, the opening up of bus services to competition, launched in 2021, is now complete, with 36 contracts awarded to Transdev, Keolis, Lacroix-Savac and RATP Cap Île-de-France.