French transport group trains its sights on Singapore MRT, public bus services

Singapore

FRENCH multimodal transport operator RATP Group is determined to gain a foothold in the Singapore public transport sector despite three failed attempts, the first of which goes back as far as 17 years.

To underline its intent, RATP Dev - the international operating arm - is establishing today a subsidiary here to be its regional headquarters for Asia- Pacific, said RATP Dev's chief executive, Laurence Batlle.

"We will be looking in Singapore at the coming new metro lines (Jurong Region and Cross Island) and the future bus tenders. In the region, Malaysia and Philippines are markets of interest for us as well," said Ms Batlle, who was making her first visit to Singapore.

The initial set-up will be a modest team comprising three people. Singaporean Shaun Tan Poh Chye, who spent three years working for RATP Dev in China, has relocated back to Singapore as the regional HQ's general manager.

Mr Tan, 48, has more than 20 years of experience in the transport sector, the company said.

"Shaun brings RATP Dev's international expertise and innovation to complement Singapore's existing transport know-how. Our local team will be supplemented ad hoc with experts from our Paris headquarters and other operations worldwide," added Ms Batlle, who was among the speakers at the inaugural three-day Women's Forum Singapore from Sept 12 to 14.

The 47-year-old has chaired the executive board of RATP Dev since January 2017 and has been a board member since 2011. She joined the company in December 2007.

The French state-owned RATP Group is no stranger to Singapore.

RATP International Investissement, a related entity, teamed up with Tibs Holdings in February 2001 to tender for the Marina Line rail project - the first stage of what is now the Circle Line.

That partnership proved to be short-lived: soon after signing the agreement, SMRT Corp mounted a takeover of Tibs. By the time the Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded the Marina Line contract in August, the takeover-cum-merger of Tibs was over bar the shouting. SMRT also landed the contract, which meant that RATP lost out on both its bride and the job.

In 2015, RATP took another stab at gaining a foothold in the Republic, following a new initiative by the government to shift the public bus industry to a contestable system, under which it will own fixed and operating assets while bus companies focus on meeting service standards and keeping buses in good working order.

Two government bus contracts were up for grabs that year - the Bulim package made up of 26 bus services operating from the Bukit Batok, Clementi and Jurong East interchanges and the Loyang package comprising 25 bus routes in Punggol and Pasir Ris.

RATP Dev, in partnership with fellow French-based Transdev, tendered for both contracts in a crowded field but lost out to eventual winners Anglo-Australian operator Tower Transit and British firm Go-Ahead for the Bulim and Loyang package, respectively.

RATP Dev remains undeterred, with Ms Batlle taking the opportunity of her maiden visit to Singapore to pay courtesy calls to the LTA, SMRT and SBS Transit, the other local multimodal transport operator here.

Asked what RATP Dev can bring to Singapore, Ms Batlle said: "We pride ourselves on our more than 100 years of experience in metro assets management acquired in Paris and across the world.

"We will invest in Singapore proportionally to the level of interest the LTA and the MOT (Ministry of Transport) will care to display for our ambitious value proposition for Singapore."

The group's extensive experience in fully automated metro systems can be seen in the operation and extension of Paris Line 14, the successful automation of Paris Line 1 and the current automation of Line 4, all of which have been achieved without major interruption of service, said RATP Dev.

It sees demand-responsive services (DRS) as the future of transport, one that is neither public nor private but personalised transport.

"For example we launched DRS in many of the 14 countries where we operate. These services give passengers flexibility in the way they travel, which can only be a good thing for inclusivity," she said.

The company wants to be a part of Singapore's Smart Mobility 2030 vision.

Ms Batlle noted: "We wish to become a trusted and long-standing partner to Singapore's public transport stakeholders and help the city fulfil its ambition to be one of the smartest transport cities in the world."

She doesn't think RATP Dev must necessarily compete against SMRT or SBS Transit in order to make inroads into Singapore.

As far as working relations are concerned, it is not dogmatic. In some markets, RATP Dev operates alone but for others it is open to collaboration with other players, including rivals.

For instance, RATP Dev Transdev Asia has a successful joint venture with Hyundai Rotem in South Korea to operate and maintain Seoul Metro Line 9.

"Each partner brings its core competencies and added values. Seoul Line 9 has been a benchmark of service used for the other eight lines of the city metro network."

Few visitors to Hong Kong probably know that the city's iconic double-decked trams are operated by RATP Dev Transdev Asia, which took full ownership of Hong Kong Tramways in April 2010.

Incongruous as it may seem in a modern and densely populated metropolis, the 13km tramway system built in 1904 on Hong Kong Island is a major people mover, carrying on average 180,000 passengers daily on 163 tramcars.

At a flat fare of HK$2.60 (S$0.45), trams are the cheapest public transport in Hong Kong. Yet RATP Dev Transdev Asia is able to run the business profitably.

With nearly 16 million daily passengers worldwide, the RATP Group is the fifth largest urban transportation operator in the world.

Its most recent achievement was in Saudi Arabia where a joint venture between RATP Dev and Saudi Public Transport Company was awarded the flagship Riyadh Metro Operations & Maintenance contract for Lines 1 and 2 worth two billion euros (S$3.17 billion) over 12 years.

RATP Dev at a glance