Isère, France: inauguration of the first retrofitted coaches for the RUBAN network operated by Keolis

22nd November 2023

In the south-east of France, the "Communauté d’Agglomération Porte de l’Isère" (Capi) organises passenger transport services under a public service delegation agreement (DSP) for the operation of regular routes, transport on demand and school services on its RUBAN network.

This public service contract has been renewed with Keolis, who had held the contract since 2016. The 6-year contract began on 1 September 2022 and will run until 2028. Among the key ambitions of this new contract, the CAPI and Keolis want to move towards sustainable mobility, in particular by making the RUBAN network’s fleet of vehicles greener.

Keolis has supported the CAPI’s ecological transition by proposing to carry out an electric retrofit on three Keolis Porte des Alpes coaches. This is a major first in France and Europe, as these are the first retrofitted coaches to be authorised to carry passengers. All the other coaches retrofitted to date are only prototypes and cannot legally carry passengers.

What is retrofitting?

Since the Act of 3 April 2020 came into force, it is now permitted in France to convert a vehicle with a polluting engine to a more environmentally friendly battery-electric or hydrogenpowered system.

This innovative practice, known as retrofitting, consists of removing the internal combustion engine and fuel tank from a vehicle and replacing them with an electric motor and battery.