Padam Mobility
How Did the Le Cotentin Urban Community Boost Its Rural Mobility Thanks to Padam Mobility’s Demand-Responsive Transport?
Offering a Relevant Mobility Solution for Rural Areas
Context
Le Cotentin Urban Community, located in the north of the Manche department, was created on January 1st, 2017 after the merger of 129 municipalities. With a surface area of nearly 1440 km², it is the 2nd largest Urban Community in France.
Originally, only the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin had a public transit network, with 8 regular lines and some Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) services for people with reduced mobility. When created in 2017, Le Cotentin Urban Community took charge, in addition to these services, of 4 regular lines and 2 summer lines (Manéo).
Today, with the enlargement of the territory and the integration of new areas, mostly rural and sparsely populated, the need to facilitate the access of the inhabitants to the centre of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin from the outlying towns becomes obvious. A major mobility plan is launched. The idea of building a transport network covering the whole territory efficiently and at a lower cost gradually emerges.
Then, the Urban Community wants to test several mobility solutions, including Padam Mobility’s smart and dynamic Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT). It is in this context the LaSaire TAD service is set up, in collaboration with the Zephir network operator (Keolis).
“The low density of our territories prevents us from offering conventional bus transport. At best, it would allow about ten people to travel during the day. Inspired by the example of the Orleans Metropolitan Area, the Padam Mobility Demand-Responsive Transport solution seemed to be the most suitable for our territory: an urban area of 80,000 inhabitants surrounded by rural with around 100,000 inhabitants.”
Solution
Geography
From July 2019, Padam Mobility’s digital Demand-Responsive Transport solutions equip Zephir’s fleet of vehicles and support its operations. The service is initially set up to serve 22 stops in 3 municipalities bordering Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (Bretteville-en-Saire, Digosville and Le Mesnil-au-Val).
Service Design
Operating on a first and last mile service design, the La Saire TAD network allows users to join regular lines at specific stops, from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm, from Monday to Saturday. These stops were selected with the Urban Community mainly for the passage frequency of the vehicles of the existing fixed-line network.
Access and Booking
Users can use their Zephir pass to access the service by validating their transportation card on board. Occasional users can also purchase a ticket directly from the driver once on board. The service is only available by booking through three channels:
- A mobile app
- A website
- A booking call centre by phone
