Garrigues+A0101

High-service coach lines exist in a number of countries : in Spain with radial access to Madrid, in Brazil, in the USA, in India, in France (among others, the Dourdan-Massy, Bordeaux-Créon, Aix-Marseille links). A high level of service, not only in terms of running speed but also frequency, is the “Express” feature.
A line of this kind is expected to attract massive ridership and high levels of traffic, in particular by transferring traffic from the car : as a result, it will have a positive environmental impact, particularly in terms of the carbon footprint of the local mobility system. What are the typical performances of an express bus line in terms of ridership, commercial revenue and operating costs ? With what levels of financial profitability, and also socio-economic profitability ?
Based on existing lines, what insights can be drawn for the further development of metropolitan and intercity services in France ?
Long distance public transports development is a major stake for social and territorial cohesion and to reduce our carbon footprint, which represent 30% of our total CO2 emissions in France. The suburban and long distance public transport travels are train-oriented. Yet, the rail transport production costs are too high to be widely affordable to serve medium and low density of population territories.
Besides, coach lines running cost is around 4 times lower than train and can be put in place very quickly. We noted an upgrade of coach services that are more and more comfortable and equipped with Wi-Fi, power outlets, reclining seats. The frequency of the coaches can also reach 5 minutes in peak time in some lines and dedicated routes are developing to make coach services more and more attractive.
We selected and analyzed a dozen express coach lines in the above-mentioned countries. For each, we have characterized the territorial conditions (route, ridership) and recorded the various performance indicators. We have drawn up a summary table of the lines’ performance, enabling us to compare them and identify common points. By way of example, operating costs range from €3 to €5 per km travelled by a vehicle in France.

Garrigues