Angers Loire Métropole renewed with RATP Dev the operation and maintenance contract for the multimodal Irigo mobility network.
This new six-year public service delegation contract will take effect on 1 January 2026 and will run until 2031, building on a robust and far-reaching partnership that began in 2019.
Over the course of the new contract, RATP Dev aims to integrate ever more sustainable and user-friendly mobility solutions to attract new users and support regional development, with plans to extend services in the urban commnuity’s priority development zones serving an additional 8000 residents. By 2030, express bus lines focused on growth zones will run every 30 minutes throughout the day. Demand-responsive transport (DRT) will also see significant development with the aim of doubling the number of trips by 2031.
For the past six years, the Irigo mobility network, operated by RD Angers, a subsidiary of RATP Dev, has served 310,000 inhabitants across 29 municipalities. Transporting nearly 43 million passengers each year, the partnership has proved productive since 2022, with ridership growth of 26%, travelcard subscription growth of 18% and a user satisfaction rate of 81% according to the latest survey.
The results reflect RATP Dev’s successful roll-out of Angers Loire Métropole’s ambitious vision for mobility featuring a broad and integrated modal offer prioritising intermodality. By integrating different transport modes in Angers, RATP Dev supports the urban community in widening the offer of efficient and responsible mobility solutions and encouraging residents and visitors to use them.
“In partnership with the urban community [of Angers Loire Métropole], RATP Dev has been operating Angers’ multimodal network since 2019 and in 2023 supported the successful launch of two new tram lines. And with passenger numbers up 26% and more than 43 million trips per year, the figures speak for themselves. We will continue this trajectory to boost ridership even further across the different transport modes whilst enhancing the environmental exemplarity of the network,” Hiba Farès, Chief Executive Officer of RATP Dev said.
On the environmental front, Irigo will continue its green transition. Already ISO 14001 certified, the network aims to have 66% of buses running on BioNGV by the end of 2029. In addition, considerable investment will be made in renewal of the vehicle fleet, expanding training in eco-driving and reducing electricity consumption in depots by 10%. Human development within the Irigo network will also feature heavily within the next contract phase with the planned recruitment of 60 drivers and 48 apprentices.
The multimodal Irigo mobility network comprises of a bus network, three tram lines systems as well as vélo (bike) network.
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