In 2023, Keolis began deploying metropolitan regional express services (SERM in French) on behalf of public transport authorities (PTAs). Designed to efficiently connect rural, suburban and metropolitan areas; this new public transport proposition offers a fast, reliable and cost-effective alternative to personal cars.
With more than 30 express coach lines already in operation, Keolis stands out as one of the leaders in SERM deployment in France.
SERMs revolve around a multimodal approach that combines:
Mainline passenger rail services
Clockface express coach services
Fast carpooling trips
Active transport modes (cycling).
These services contribute to meeting a very specific set of priorities pursued by local authorities: improve access to previously isolated areas, reduce congestion on city approaches, cut greenhouse gas emissions and revitalise population centres - all through the provision of a simple, effective and rapid-to-deploy solution.
SERMs are designed to facilitate both regular and occasional journeys: commuting to work or university, administrative procedures, leisure activities. They are aimed at all profiles of traveller, but most notably those without access to a suitable transport service or a car, or people who wish to avoid using a car for some of their trips.
With its LIRIS Express proposition, Keolis offers a clockface service with coaches running every 15 to 30 minutes at peak time and every half hour to hour off-peak, from Monday to Friday but also at the weekend, including on evenings. In addition to this continuous availability, fares are straightforward and easy to understand, designed to make shared mobility a natural choice for the widest audience.
SERMs play a key role in the green transition by reducing single occupancy car use. Fewer cars on the roads means:
Less air and noise pollution
Less road congestion on city approaches
Substantially lower carbon emissions.
Keolis goes further with low carbon solutions. In Nice, the Group operates the first all-electric express coach line in Europe, running between Nice and Sophia Antipolis.
At the heart of the SERM experience lie comfortable travelling conditions and ease of use:
wi-fi, USB ports, retractable tray and club 4 seating
easy-to-reach and visible interchange hubs
secure, accessible and well-equipped stops
often in segregated lanes
information through integrated digital services
Thanks to Mobility as a Service (MaaS), individual passengers can plan, follow and change their journey through a single app bringing together all the locally available mobility services.
Greater Grenoble area (express coaches operated by Keolis)
60 round trips per day
3,850 passengers per day, 85% of whom are working people
Source : Keolis – SERM study (PDF)
Nice – Sophia Antipolis line
43 round trips per day
60,000 passengers per month
Source : Keolis – SERM study (PDF)
Sweden :
Lines operated between Gothenburg and Borås
Australia :
Lines operated in Sydney between the Northern Beaches and the central business district (CBD).
Source : Keolis – SERM study (PDF)
Keolis offers local authorities the benefit of its acknowledged expertise in shared, multimodal and connected mobility, with the aim of providing each community with a tailored, scalable and rapidly deployable solution that will have a measurable impact on quality of life.
From identifying route corridors (using its solution Visio Territoires) to defining routes, the number of services to run and the vehicles to be used, followed by their operation and maintenance, Keolis supports PTAs at every step.