RNTP 2025: come meet us at the Keolis booth!

From November 4 to 6, discover our innovations at the RNTP 2025 Exhibition. Visit our booth with many experts from the Group present to discuss Autonomous Mobility, Artificial Intelligence...

Our sessions in the program:

• How Artificial Intelligence Transforms Mobility - Arnaud Julien, Digital, Data and Innovation Director at Keolis Group.

• Activity Zones, Shared Networks and Performance: TAD at the Heart of New Challenges - Sonia Benouaret, TAD/PMR Expert at Keolis Group, and Pierre Caillaud-Dubart, Deputy Director of Mobility, Greater Annecy.

• Public Transport Users-Employees: The Same Battle - Lydie Jaillier, HR Director at Keolis Group.

• Accessing Public Transport with One Click - Abdellah Chajai, Director of Marketing, Innovation, Sustainable Development, and Engagement.

Join us to explore new dimensions of public transport and participate in the transformation of mobility!

Review of RNTP 2023

7,000 visitors attended the RNTP, National Public Transport Meetings 2023, which took place in Clermont-Ferrand from October 17 to 19. Three days of insightful exchanges at the Keolis stand and throughout the exhibition: innovations for the mobility of tomorrow in energy transition, safety, passenger experience, autonomous vehicles... Focus on the highlights, in five chapters.

Energy transition: Hydrogen in the spotlight at the RNTP 

The push toward decarbonized mobilities brought together the entire public transport sector. At the RNTP in Clermont-Ferrand, numerous innovations showcased the growing role of hydrogen.

The announcement of a hydrogen bus line experiment by Keolis in the Clermont-Ferrand area was a prime example, featuring 14 "retrofit" vehicles (diesel buses converted to green engines) on a major line in the area.

Retrofit—towards hydrogen, electric, or hybrid solutions—was gaining importance. The movement showed no signs of slowing down: three governmental decrees were published in October 2023 to facilitate its development.

Notably, Solarbus photovoltaic solutions developed by Europart were entering their industrialization phase. These involved photovoltaic panels installed on the roofs of vehicles or depots. Keolis's Danish subsidiary had co-led an experiment on this use case as early as 2022.

Passenger experience: Advancements in dynamic signage

More than ever, new technologies were used to provide end-to-end comfort for passengers. Driven by the Movin’On community, the "SmartShuttle" project, involving Orange, Saint-Gobain, and Bertolami, aimed to create a mobility service for employees that promotes rest, concentration, and collaborative work. In other words, turning transport into valuable time. This project featured a highly developed prototype presented at exhibitions, highlighting interior space ergonomics, enhanced sound insulation, and information projection on glass walls.

Targeted passenger information was also progressing, thanks to dynamic systems displaying multiple pieces of information on a single screen. This was the case with the bus stop signaling system developed by BusPas (Canada), which relies on artificial intelligence to deliver the right information at the right time to the right person (bus waiting times, number of bikes available at the nearest station, etc.).

In terms of accessibility, Biped offered a very innovative individual guidance device for visually impaired people. A harness equipped with a 3D camera analyzes the environment, using a sound system to guide the person. Finally, in Italy, Ruspa had created seats with a distinctive design to instantly identify spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility.

Safety: More visible signage  

To protect pedestrians and cyclists, highly visible road markings encourage caution. Presented at RNTP 2023, Luminokrom is a French technology featuring photoluminescent paint that secures nighttime movements for up to 10 hours (already used in Creil by Keolis Evrard). The company Flowell, a specialist in interactive luminous markings, develops several high-impact signaling solutions, such as green and red LED strips positioned on either side of pedestrian crossings for enhanced safety.

Autonomous mobilities: this transport solution is already taking shape

One of the highlights of the RNTP in Clermont-Ferrand was Keolis's demonstration on its booth of on-demand transport aboard level four autonomous vehicles. There are 5 levels of vehicle autonomy: from level 4, no operator is needed on board. From Norway to Turkey, experiments in real conditions were becoming increasingly operational. Importantly, manufacturers were diversifying models (buses, 6-meter vehicles, small sizes) for multiple uses adapted to different areas. In Monheim, a small town in eastern Germany, 9 level 3 shuttles already provided regular city-center links. This level means an operator is on board but only takes control if necessary.

And more: Innovation of all kinds!  

With nearly 200 exhibitors and 7,000 participants from the mobility sectors, the RNTP demonstrated the vitality of innovations at the core and periphery of transport. Three trends were confirmed in 2023:

• The offer of traditional and electric bikes in self-service was growing with original solutions (Fifteen bikes that "attach" to each other to connect to a single charging station).

• Bike carrying systems (attached to the back of buses) were beginning to industrialize (become widespread).

• The emergence of companies specializing in recycling and reusing bus materials and components: bags made from fabric from old bus seats, etc.