Educating Riders and Public Authorities

Public transit links districts, cements social bonds and serves as a place to socialize. Many of our drivers are involved in public education and awareness outreach. We deploy a variety of initiatives in France, which combine games with education, events and exhibitions.

Campaigns organized by our transit systems for primary and middle schoolchildren are implemented in every geographic region. We are now gauging the positive impact of local initiatives conducted in the last few years, such as the "Je suis sport dans les transports" ["Be a sport on public transport"] campaign in Seine-Saint-Denis, France, which mixed sports and respect for common courtesy and culminated in a civic sports festival.

In Rouen, the "City Raid Aventure" is a treasure hunt that introduces children to their city's institutions, such as the mayor's office, police and courts. Each year 60 of our employees take part.

In Vierzon and Calais, we sponsored bus decoration events for youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods, to give them a sense of ownership.

Lastly, Veolia Transport is a Whitelion sponsor in Melbourne.

Increased awareness of environmental concerns and the economic crisis have prompted people to question their travel habits and government authorities their transportation policies.

Beyond providing public transit systems that function efficiently, whether in terms of optimal operating methods and resources or the quality of the service on offer, the issue of environmental impact grows more important by the day. It is often the point of departure for questions concerning sustainable development. What is the true impact of transportation on public health, global warming, the economic development of a region, and on improvements to the population's living conditions?

Drivers would certainly leave their cars at home if more public transportation were available. However, public transit authorities need to invest heavily to develop their transit systems. This is no easy matter when you consider that, for example, in the United States in 2009, 25 large municipal transit systems faced critical situations during the financial crisis.

Across the world, accentuated urban sprawl has created extensive residential areas with the emergence of sizeable and complex service and working areas that require a new approach to regional planning both in terms of policies and operational methods. This has led to the establishment of cooperation between the different players involved, and to interconnected transit systems. Contractual agreements like public service management contracts and public-private partnerships are particularly appropriate in these situations. In addition, the transportation sector accounts for 19% of CO2 emissions and 14% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.