Integrated rail, bus and taxi services have helped get the Netherlands moving – a similar system could work equally well here, writes FRANK DILLON

DUBLIN COULD learn valuable lessons on successfully integrating its transport network from the experiences of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.

That’s according to Richard Dujardin, chief executive of Veolia for Benelux, the UK and Ireland. Veolia runs the Dutch transport project as well as Dublin’s LUAS lines and other utilities in Ireland.

Dujardin is no stranger to Dublin, having run the local Veolia operation here for over a decade before taking on a wider European brief.

He returns to Ireland next week to address an Ibec Transport Conference at which he will outline how the firm introduced a system in Limburg integrating trains, buses and taxis.

In 2006, the Dutch local authority decided on a major overhaul of its inefficient transport system. Veolia won the €100 million contract to design and implement an integrated multimodal system.

The province is a densely populated area with 1.2 million people and includes the cities of Maastrict and Heerlen at the crossroads of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The solution involves integrated rail, bus and taxi services with a central control system that solves disruptions.

According to the company, the result is a model system in terms of fare consistency, pick-up windows and seamless combination of trips.

“When we restructured the system we came up with a fishbone design with rail as the backbone, with buses and taxis fanning out from that. We re-examined routes, bus stops, train stations and timetables and re-designed everything around the passenger,” explains Dujardin.

The new network features 24 trains, 240 buses and 300 taxis.

Co-ordinating the network from a single control centre has been a key feature while the application of new technology has improved the customer experience. Real time information is available on internet, aboard vehicles and on solar powered displays at over 700 stops.

Passengers can also purchase and print tickets over the internet from their homes.

“Internet ticketing provides us with the possibility of introducing a revenue management approach similar to the aviation and hospitality industry,” Dujardin notes.

An aggressive marketing plan was put in place to boost demand for off-peak travel. This has involved link-ups with shopping centres, tourist attractions and entertainment venues. The results are impressive. Within a year of operation bus passenger numbers have risen by 29 per cent while train numbers in the south of the province have increased by as much as 43 per cent.

Customer satisfaction rates have shot up and improved efficiencies have led to reduced operating costs in area such as staffing and fuel.

The benefits are being shared by the local authority as well. Subsidy levels have decreased to well under 50 per cent and will fall further as passenger numbers increase, Dujardin says. The full benefits will come in the years ahead.

“Ten years is an appropriate amount of time to achieve results in terms of passengers and commercial revenues,” he says. “The project was not without its difficulties at the start but we addressed problems openly with the local authority and stuck at it. Genuine partnership is vital,” he adds.

Dujadin feels that the integration model is one that Dublin and many other European cities should look at.

The company has operated the Luas contract here since its introduction in 2004 and is one of the bidders for the Metro North contract which is currently being assessed.

Veolia is also involved in water, energy and waste management in Ireland.

Overall, it employs some 1,200 people here with turnover in excess of €200 million.

Despite the current economic recession and increased pressures on public finances, Dujardin says that Veolia has not noticed a decrease in business activity to date, reflecting the longer-term nature of the infrastructure projects it is involved in.

* Richard Dujardin will address a conference entitled “A Sustainable Transport Future” organised by the Department of Transport and Ibec on May 7th at Dublin Castle.