Transdev, formerlyVeolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operatespublic transport.[3] It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020.[2]
Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via themerger ofVeolia Transport andTransdev S.A., being initially equally owned byVeolia Environnement andCaisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), the former soon announced plans to divest its holding in the business. Early priorities of Transdev were to largely focus upon its four core markets (France, theNetherlands, Germany, and the United States) while disposing of its less profitable ventures based in most other countries to consolidate. At the time of merger, Transdev operated in 27 countries to varying extents. During January 2019, Veolia sold on its remaining 30% shareholding in Transdev to theRethmann Group; the company has since integrated some of its subsidiaries with those of Transdev.
On 6 December 2011, Veolia Environment, seeking to reducedebt and focus on its core businesses ofwater,waste andenergy, announced a €5 bn divestment program over 2012/13 that would include a sale of its share in Veolia Transdev within two years.[5] At the time of the announcement, Veolia Transdev declared its intention to concentrate on four main markets (France, theNetherlands, Germany, and the United States), to develop its presence in theUnited Kingdom,Asia andAustralia and to divest from other countries and other activities amounting to about 9–10% of globalrevenue in 2012/13. After this announcement, the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, for its part, officially reiterated its commitment to Veolia Transdev and its continued support as a shareholder to the group's development.[6]
During early 2012, it was reported that Cube Infrastructure, a fund controlled by the French bankNatixis (Groupe BPCE), was likely to acquire about half of Veolia's stake in Transdev. The Caisse des Dépôts would take over the other half.[7] In October 2012, this was later changed to Caisse des Dépôts acquiring 10% of the shares from Veolia.[8] However, this reported acquisition was not implemented. Following the sale of Transdev subsidiary SNCM in late 2015, CDC and Veolia continued talks about selling Veolia's stake in the joint venture.[9] In December 2016, CDC finally bought 20% shares from Veolia.[10] As a result, Veolia's share became 30% while CDC's share became 70%.
In October 2018, Veolia announced its intention to sell its remaining 30% shareholding to the Rethmann Group.[11] The transaction was completed during January 2019, with Rethmann increasing its shareholding to 34% by adding itsRhenus Veniro subsidiary to the Transdev portfolio.[12]
In December 2024, it was announced that Rethmann Group planned to increase its shareholding to 66% with Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations' to reduce its to 34%.[13]
At the time of merger, Transdev operated in the following 27 countries.[14] In 2014, the operations at the time were organised into seven geographical areas (struckthrough countries' operations have already ceased):[15]
France
Benelux (Netherlands,Belgium)
North America (US, Canada)
Germany and Central Europe (Croatia, Poland, Czech Republic,Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia)
The UK and Northern Europe (Finland, Ireland, Sweden)
Asia and the Pacific (Australia,China,South Korea,India, New Zealand)
Southern Europe and the rest of the world (Chile, Colombia,Israel, Morocco, Portugal, Spain)
In 2013, CEO Jérôme Gallot confirmed that Veolia Transdev would consolidate its operations down to 17 countries.[16] As of November 2020, Transdev operates in 17 countries spanning across five continents.[2] The list only countssovereign countries and therefore excludesNew Caledonia (France).Jersey, aBritish Crown dependency andHong Kong (China), were previously also not counted for the same reason. Veolia Transdev (and Transdev) operatedMyBus operations until 2012 andHong Kong Tramways until 2020 respectively.
Additionally, Transdev is a shareholder of Transamo, a transport engineering and consultancy firm in Europe that was inherited from theold Transdev.[17][18][19][20] It specialises in the project management of public transport projects in France.Société de Transports intercommunaux de Bruxelles (STIB) is the other major shareholder of Transamo.[21]
In December 2018, Transdev commenced operating a 10-year contract in theMoravian-Silesian Region servingBruntál,Krnov,Nový Jičín andRýmařov.[22][23] Transdev had previously operated buses in the Czech Republic until they were sold toArriva in May 2013 (seeCentral Europe section below). During August 2019, Transdev acquired the 3CSAD Group that also operated in the Moravian-Silesian Region with 410 buses to become the fourth largest bus operator in the Czech Republic.[24]
Transdev's subsidiary Société Varoise de Transports (SVT) has operated two lines of theBouches du Rhône district network since 1 January 2014, serving a population of more than one million inhabitants.[25]
Transdev owned 66% ofSNCM, a French ferry company operating in the Mediterranean. However, as of 2014, Transdev was planning to sell its shares.[26] SNCM was finally sold to a Corsican firm Rocca Group in late 2015 and was renamed Maritima Ferries in January 2016.[9]
Thello (seeItaly section) operated trains between Italy and France; Transdev relinquished its 33% holding in 2016.[27]
Prior to April 2019, Transdev ownedEurolines who operated coach services around Europe.[28] In July 2015, Eurolines commenced operating 17 coach routes under the Isilines brand to coincide with the deregulation of the French coach market.[29] Eurolines and Isilines were sold toFlixbus in April 2019.[30] Transdev retains Isilines' B2B bus rental activities in France, which will be operated under the Transdev brand.
The shared-van service SuperShuttle operated in the country, but it was sold to an affiliate ofBlackstreet Capital Management in September 2019, after which it ceased service at the end of 2019 citing that Uber and market changes led to its demise.[31] The SuperShuttle brand and technology was purchased in March 2020, and operates as SuperShuttle Express focusing on economical private rides, black car and SUV, and private vans/Sprinters for large groups.
Transdev Ireland (known as Veolia Transport Ireland until May 2013) has operated Dublin'sLuas tram system since 2004.[32] In June 2019, Transdev was awarded a new contract to operate and maintain the system for another six years, effective 1 December 2019, with an option for a five-year extension.[33]
Transdev Germany operates buses and trains in Germany. It was renamed from Veolia Verkehr GmbH in March 2015.[34]
In November 2018, Transdev was awarded a contract to operate the regional railway network ofHannover; the deal, which covers approximately 9.3 million rail kilometres per year and typically carries in excess of 30 million passengers annually, was valued at in excess of €1.5 billion and is the largest regional rail contract in the history of Transdev Germany to date.[35]
During January 2019,Rhenus Veniro was added to Transdev's German portfolio as a result of Rhenus's parent company, Rethmann, increasing its shareholding of Transdev to 34%.[12] The shared-van service SuperShuttle operated inBerlin, but it was sold to an affiliate ofBlackstreet Capital Management in September 2019, after which it ceased service at the end of 2019 citing that Uber and market changes led to its demise.[31]
Transdev Portugal operates bus and coach services all around Portugal, and formerly light rail.[36] It was first established in 1997 to tender for theMetro do Porto light rail through the consortium Normetro. The light rail opened in 2002 and was operated by Transdev Portugal until 2010.[36][37] Transdev Portugal also acquired the CAIMA Group in 2002 and theJoalto Group in 2010.[36] It was rewarded the AveiroBus network with 24 buses, 1 ferry boat and 2 boats, effective from 1 January 2017.[38]
The shared-van service SuperShuttle operated in the country, but it was sold to an affiliate ofBlackstreet Capital Management in September 2019, after which it ceased service at the end of 2019 citing that Uber and market changes led to its demise.[31]
Transdev Netherlands is made up of two operations,Connexxion and Witte Kruis. There used to be an additional operation calledVeolia Transport Nederland, until the branding was discontinued and replaced by Connexxion during December 2016.[39] Transdev Netherlands was set up in December 2015 to group the three operations together under one brand, after bringing Connexxion and Veolia Transport Nederland under one management earlier in May that year.[40] Each operation continued to exist separately with its branding unchanged until the rebranding of Veolia Transport Nederland.[41] This arrangement was planned ever since the global rebranding of Veolia Transdev in 2013.[42]
During October 2007, Transdev acquired a 50% shareholding in Connexxion.[43][44][45] In February 2013, Transdev's shareholding increased to 86%.[46][47]
Veolia Transport Nederland operated bus, train and ferry services around Netherlands since 1997. During December 2016, the last remaining concession of Veolia Transport Nederland was rebranded to Connexxion.[39] Witte Kruis (Dutch for White Cross) is Transdev's mobile care organization in Netherlands.
The shared-van service SuperShuttle operated in the country, but it was sold to an affiliate ofBlackstreet Capital Management in September 2019, after which it ceased service at the end of 2019 citing that Uber and market changes led to its demise.[31]
Transdev is one of the few companies that make upTramMet, a joint venture company that operates two tram lines inBarcelona:Trambaix andTrambesòs.[48] Transdev has 66% stake in the operating companies of the tram networks, and 5.53% of the concession companies.[49][50]
Transdev, together with Saycr and Ineco, also formerly formed the Tenemetro, S.L., which had a 14% stake (out of which, Transdev 8.5%)[51] of Metropolitano de Tenerife (MTSA), the operator ofTenerife Tram since 2003.[52] Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (the Tenerife Island Government) also owned 80% stake of the company.[53] This tram operation was passed down from theold Transdev.[54] The 14% was sold back to the Cabildo (Tenerife government) on 4 April 2017, who now owns 100% of MTSA.[55][56]
The shared-van service SuperShuttle operated in the country, but it was sold to an affiliate ofBlackstreet Capital Management in September 2019, after which it ceased service at the end of 2019 citing that Uber and market changes led to its demise.[31]
Transdev, known as Transdev Sverige AB, operates a number of subsidiaries in Sweden. The company was rebranded fromVeolia Transport Sverige AB on 2 February 2015.[57] Its subsidiaries are:[58]
Snälltåget, an operator which runs long distance trains from Malmö to Stockholm andUppsala,[59] in the winter season going further on toÅre, and the long distance train from Malmö toBerlin with train ferry viaTrelleborg toSassnitz in the summer season.[60]
Styrsöbolaget, a ferry company inGothenburg, which operates the cross-river ferries (Älvsnabben) as well as the ferries to the south archipelago.
Transdev also operates some local city bus networks or interurban lines on contract to the local authorities (Västtrafik).
Transdev operates local bus services in north Stockholm on behalf ofSL from 2019.
Transdev also won the tender to operate bus services inUmeå from 13 June 2016.[61]
In January 2018, Transdev completed its acquisition ofBlidösundsbolaget, a ferry operator in the Stockholm archipelago.[62] It currently operates on one of the four ferry contracts in the Stockholm archipelago. In December 2018, Blidösundsbolaget was awarded a second and the largest of the Stockholm archipelago contracts, for a period of nine years starting December 2019.[63] Additionally, in April 2018, Blidösundsbolaget has been commissioned to operate the shuttle service on Ekerölinjen no. 89 for seven years starting in August 2018.[64]
During July 2019, Transdev Sweden was awarded a 10-year bus market worth €757 million, comprising five contracts, in the Västra Götaland region inGothenburg. The contracts commenced in December 2020.[65] Also in July 2019, Transdev announced the acquisition of A Björks AB, a major bus operator active in Central and Northern Sweden.[24] This acquisition was completed in September 2019, which made Transdev Sweden's third largest public transportation operator.
In 2020, Transdev Sweden sold bus company Flygbussarna Airport Coaches toVy Buss.[66]
Transdev owns three car services inLondon. Green Tomato Cars is an environmentally friendly passenger car service in London and was established in 2006.[67][70] Trident Niven, which was acquired in December 2012, is a London-based private hire company and operates a fleet of 100 cars.[71] Black Car Service, established in May 2014, is a new corporate chauffeured car service in London, with a fleet of 150 black unbrandedVolkswagen CCs (as of May 2014).[72]
During April 2021, it was announced that Transdev had reached an agreement withArriva to purchase Yorkshire Tiger, with the business rebranded Team Pennine upon completion in July 2021.[73][74]
Arrow Light Rail, a consortium betweenthe original Transdev,Nottingham City Transport,Bombardier Transportation,Carillion, Galaxy andInnisfree, was contracted to build and operate theNottingham Express Transit for 30.5 years from 9 March 2004.[75] However, the contract was terminated in 2011 when Tramlink Nottingham (aKeolis consortium) was selected as the preferred bidder for the construction of Phase 2 of the light rail and operation of the network.[76] The last day of operations of Arrow Light Rail was 16 December 2011, few months after the establishment of Veolia Transdev.[77][78]
Transdev Volvo B7TL East Lancs Vyking inThe Strand
The old Transdev used to ownLondon Sovereign andLondon United, two of the 20 bus operators serving London, up to the merger withVeolia Transport during March 2011. Veolia Transdev took over London Sovereign from the old Transdev until it was sold toRATP Group in April 2014.[79][80] Veolia Transdev never took over London United, instead it passed to RATP.
The shared-van service SuperShuttle operated in the country, but it was sold to an affiliate ofBlackstreet Capital Management in September 2019, after which it ceased service at the end of 2019 citing that Uber and market changes led to its demise.[31]
Green Tomato Cars, which Transdev owned since 2010, was sold to Travelhire in February 2019.[81] The sale marked Transdev's exit from the UK private hire market.
In Belgium, Veolia Transdev's operations were known as Veolia Transport Belgium (VTB). VTB was sold to a consortium consisting of Cube Infrastructure andGimv in March 2014.[82]
In Central Europe, Veolia Transdev's operations were known asVeolia Transport Central Europe GmbH (VTCE) and included operations in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Serbia. They were sold toArriva in May 2013.[83][84] From 2022, the company is again active in Slovakia under the Transdev brand.[85]
Thello was cross-border train services between France and Italy; it was initially organised as a joint venture between Transdev and the Italian state owned railway companyTrenitalia.[86] On 11 December 2011, Thello ran its first night service, having rapidly come into operation to take advantage of a vacant niche opened by the withdrawal of theArtesia cross-border service only one month prior.[87][88] During June 2016, Transdev sold their share in the venture to Trenitalia, giving the latter full control of Thello.[89][27] Transdev stated that the operation had been negatively impacted by increased customs controls on account of theEuropean migrant crisis, theParis terrorist attacks in November 2015 as well as delays caused by railway engineering works.[90][91]
The shared-van service SuperShuttle operated in the country, but it was sold to an affiliate ofBlackstreet Capital Management in September 2019, after which it ceased service at the end of 2019 citing that Uber and market changes led to its demise.[31]
Transdev operated in Finland as Transdev Finland Oy. It was rebranded from Veolia Transport Finland Oy on 5 February 2015.[95] The operations of Transdev Finland were closed down at the end of 2019.[95]
Transdev North America, formerly Veolia Transportation until August/September 2014, is the North American business unit of Transdev. It operates a number ofpublic transport services across the United States and Canada.
Other North American operations inherited from theold Transdev (Limocar) were never part of Veolia Transportation and therefore are not part of Transdev North America.
On 26 October 2022, Transdev has signed an agreement to acquireFirst Transit, Inc.[96][97] On 7 March 2023, Transdev completed the acquisition of First Transit, all current First Transit contracts are now operating under the Transdev brand.[98]
Transdev Canada is the Transdev subsidiary in Canada and it has the following operations:[99]
York BRT Services L.P: A subsidiary of Transdev Canada inYork Region,Ontario, it runs theYork Region Transit's Vaughan routes. It also formerly operated theViva Rapid Transit (Purple, Orange, Green, Pink and Blue) routes since April 2005 until they were taken over in June 2015 byTok Transit, who won the contract in April 2014.[100][101][102]
Valley light rail line inEdmonton, Alberta: Transdev will operate the Valley Line as part of the TransEd consortium.[103][104] It is scheduled for completion in 2023.
Voyago: Operates school buses, special needs buses, charters, and patient transfer vehicles.
Hurontario LRT: recently renamed as Hazel McCallion Line, connecting Mississauga and Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area. It is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
Ontario Line: a fully automated heavy metro line in Toronto. It is scheduled to be completed in 2031
Transdev Canada announced its acquisition of Voyago on 8 April 2019.[107] Voyago is a Canadian-owned group of transportation companies with a fleet of 970 vehicles, operating services including patient transfer services and student transport services.
Denver, Colorado:Regional Transportation District (RTD) routes throughout the metro-wide District. The contract has been renewed for a three-year term from 2014 with two (one-year) options.[111]
Boston: Veolia Transportation operated theMBTA's regional commuter rail operations in conjunction withBombardier Transportation and Alternate Concepts, Inc.[124] as theMassachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR) until 30 June 2014. MBCR lost the bid for the contract in 2013 andKeolis, the successful bidder for the contract, took over operations on 1 July 2014.
SuperShuttle: The shared-van service SuperShuttle operated inCanada, theUnited States of America, andMexico, but it was sold to an affiliate ofBlackstreet Capital Management in September 2019, after which it ceased service at the end of 2019 citing that Uber and market changes led to its demise.[31] In the spring of 2020, the former president of SuperShuttle, Dave Bird, partnered with the owners of rideshare company zTrip, to acquire the SuperShuttle and ExecuCar (shared executive limousine) brands and made plans to relaunch service in several markets by the end of 2021.[125]
Taxi: Veolia sold its American taxi operations to WHC in 2019.[126]
Orlando, Florida: Operated buses for theDisney College Program. These buses would transport College Program participates from their apartment complexes to their work locations at theWalt Disney World Resort. After the restart of College Program due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contract was given to a new bus company.
New Jersey Transit: Transdev operated allMonmouth County Routes until October 1, 2023, when Transdev terminated its contract and New Jersey Transit began operating Monmouth County services through a subsidiary.[127]
Los Angeles County, California:Los Angeles Metro; Operated 31 foot buses on specificlocal routes. Failed to maintain service and maintenance, causing Transdev to lose this contract. Routes were taken over by both LA Metro and other private companies.
University of Buffalo shuttle. WeDriveU is currently operating and Transdev lost this contract in June 2024.
Veolia Transport's predecessor CGEA entered the Australian market in 1998 when it formed a joint venture to purchase theSydney Monorail and operate theSydney Light Rail. The old Transdev entered the Australian market during 2001 with the purchase ofShorelink inSydney's North Shore. Connex entered the New Zealand market in 2004 when it won the tender to operate rail services inAuckland.
Transdev's operations in both countries are under one subsidiary, Transdev Australasia. Transdev Australasia operates:
Transdev owns Transdev Outre-Mer, who runs theCarsud bus operation inNouméa, as a partnership with Carsud andSemitan.[129][130] The partnership agreement was signed in April 2014. Transdev's predecessorConnex, operated the bus operation since February 2002.[131]
As of 2021[update], Transdev does not operate in Asia. Transdev's most recent operations were through its joint ventureRATP Dev Transdev Asia until Transdev sold its share in October 2020.
RATP Dev Transdev Asia (RDTA) is a joint venture between Transdev andRATP Group created in 2009 between Veolia Transport and RATP Dev. It was originally named Veolia Transport RATP Asia (VTRA) until the Transdev global rebranding in 2013.[132] RATP Dev took over full ownership of RDTA in October 2020.[133][134]
As at the takeover by RATP Dev in October 2020, RDTA operated:[135]
Buses inChinese cities ofNanjing,Ma'anshan,Huaibei andHuainan as a joint venture with Nanjing Zhongbei, but they have been sold off to other companies, leaving RDTA to operate buses in Anqing only.
Transdev inherited from Veolia Transport theJerusalem Light Rail project that Veolia Environment had been trying to dispose of since at least 2009.[143]
In December 2011, the agreed sale of the Jerusalem Light Rail toEgged was reported to have been held up by the Israeli state. However, Egged will need Veolia's expertise for at least five years to run the light rail successfully. The sale was finally approved in August 2015.[144]
Transdev also operated buses in Israel as Veolia Transport Israel (more commonly Connex Israel):
Modi'in: Intercity and urban buses in a city located betweenJerusalem andTel Aviv. Formerly run by Margalit
Transdev, in conjunction with three other operators, runs an 84 km (52 mi) right-of-way bus line ofTransMilenio system inBogotá under the name Connexion Móvil. The contract started in 2000, and was recently extended until December 2023.[18][147]
In May 2018, Cable Movil, a consortium consisting of Transdev Chile andFanalca, won the contract to operate the newTransMiCable cable car operation in Bogotá, starting from December 2018 for a period of 5.5 years with a possible 2.5 year extension.[148]
Transdev operatesRedbus Urbano in Santiago, Chile. It is Transdev's largest bus urban networks with revenues of more than 70 million euros in 2012.[149]
Transdev operates theRabat–Salé tramway, at the time the first modern light rail service in Morocco, since May 2011.[150] Prior to Veolia Transdev's rebranding to Transdev in 2013, the tramway was operated under theold Transdev's name and logo.[151] Transdev's contract to operate the tramway was renewed for another 10 years starting January 2020.[152]
^"Our partnerships". Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR) Co. 2 February 2009. Archived fromthe original on 27 April 2009.The MBTA Board of Directors officially approved a new three-year contract with the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. to run the commuter rail.
