JULY 10 – The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) Board of Directors has awarded Keolis a five-year contract to operate and maintain its OmniRide bus service in Virginia.

OmniRide is an essential mobility provider for residents of Prince William and surrounding counties who utilize both the local service and commuter service into Washington, D.C. PRTC also cosponsors the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter rail service in partnership with the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, which is currently operated by Keolis and was recently extended by five years.

In a competitive procurement, Keolis scored highest by focusing on its extensive knowledge of the region as the operator of VRE, and its nationally and internationally renowned best practices with bus service. Keolis will bring its safe, passenger-centric philosophy in its operations of OmniRide’s commuter, local, and paratransit service and in the maintenance of PRTC’s assets.

By having a true multi-modal operator in the region, OmniRide customers can be assured of the highest level of customer service and a focus on improving their user experience.  The PRTC will have a high-quality partner who focuses on safety, continuous improvement, innovation, employee engagement, and transparency and supports OmniRide’s goal to provide safe, reliable, and flexible transportation options while helping to reduce congestion and pollution.

Keolis will begin operating the OmniRide service on November 1, 2020 and has already begun changeover activities to ensure a smooth transition that will be invisible to riders.

“We are excited to work with Keolis. Their team know the region, the expectations, and where we want to go as a service and organization. It’s an exciting time to be a part of OmniRide,” said OmniRide Executive Director Dr. Bob Schneider.

“OmniRide plays such a critical role in the mobility of residents of northern Virginia.  We are thrilled to have this opportunity to bring our multimodal, customer-focused expertise to the PRTC with the addition of OmniRide’s transit services to our portfolio,” said Keolis North America President and CEO Clement Michel. “The Washington D.C. and northern Virginia metropolitan region is incredibly important to us as it is where Keolis began in the U.S. and the PRTC was one of our first U.S. partners through the VRE contract. We look forward to supporting OmniRide’s leadership and passengers bringing world-class service, innovation, and safety as they travel throughout the region.”

“We are delighted that the PRTC, our partner of 10 years, has again placed its trust in us with the award of the OmniRide bus network,” said Bernard Tabary, CEO International at Keolis Group. “They can be reassured that we will focus on safety, continuous improvement, innovation, employee engagement and transparency.  Drawing on our international track record as a multimodal operator, we are committed to offering OmniRide passengers a top quality mobility option offering a safe and reliable alternative to private car use and thereby helping to reduce congestion and pollution.”

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About Keolis in the United States

 Keolis provides safe, reliable mobility services to millions of Americans every year. With the rider experience at the forefront, Keolis safely carries over 100 million passengers each year on local, commuter, paratransit, and commuter rail services in 12 cities. Keolis employs over 5,000 people in the U.S.

About Keolis Group

The Keolis Group is a pioneer in developing public transport systems and works alongside public decision-makers who want to turn shared mobility systems into levers to enhance the appeal and vitality of their regions. A world leader in operating automated metro and tramway systems, Keolis is supported by a sustained and open innovative policy alongside all of its partners and subsidiaries – Kisio, EFFIA, Keolis Santé and Cykleo – to bolster its core business and develop new innovative and bespoke shared mobility solutions, including trains, buses and coaches, trolleybuses, shared car solutions, river and sea shuttle services, bike share services, car sharing, fully electric driverless shuttles and urban cable cars. In France, Keolis is the second largest parking company through its subsidiary EFFIA, and the country’s leading medical transport solution since the creation of Keolis Santé in July 2017.

The Group is 70%-owned by SNCF and 30%-owned by the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund), and employs some 68,500 people in 16 countries. In 2019, it posted revenue of €6.5 billion. In 2019, 3.4 billion passengers used one of Keolis’ shared mobility services. www.keolis.com

* Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Senegal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Media Contact
Henri Vies
henri@getproofusa.com