Running after your bus, missing your train because you’re a few minutes late or having to buy tickets twice because you’re using two different modes of transport on the same journey…

… these are just some of the inconveniences that public transport users may encounter. When these travellers combine different modes of transport during the same journey, they are said to be “intermodal” passengers. Today, 75 % of TER journeys require another form of transport in the departure or destination town.
This is why the Transport Organisation Authorities have launched a number of initiatives to ensure better coordination of public transport in their areas. In order to offer customers easy and convenient travel, the SNCF Group is strengthening its major advantage, intermodal transport, by drawing on the knowledge, expertise and complementary skills of the whole Group.

GIE Inter’actions (an economic interest group) brings together SNCF and its 23 railway companies (Transilien, TER, Corail INTERCITES, Chemin de Fer de la Corse), Keolis, a specialist in automated underground systems and which runs the country’s biggest bus and coach fleet, and lastly, EFFIA, which specialises in the management of intermodal connection points, customer relations and support to transport companies.

The objective of this Economic Interest Group is to accelerate intermodal initiatives and concrete projects in France. Recent projects prove that this type of cooperation works, like the multi-mode information terminals at Lille Flandres station for example, or Saint-Malo station which offers customers easier connecting services and shared ticket desks.
In Dijon, between now and the end of 2008, the same type of facility will be provided to link public and private transport. In the meantime, the Burgundy capital has already taken steps to increase intermodality by creating the first multi-mode traveller information centre.

So intermodality is not just a concept. It covers many and various actions and Inter’actions is also an opportunity to develop forward-looking ideas to serve public transport users.