Could you please introduce yourself?
I am Céline Vivier, local manager and head of the Attignat depot at Keolis Val de Saône. Additionally, I work with my colleague on the Planning section.
My name is Laurent Freppaz, Operations officer for a year at Keolis Val de Saône. I am in charge of the schedules for the Attignat depot. Recently, I also started managing those for Mâcon.
Can you introduce the structure of Keolis Val de Saône?
Keolis Val de Saône has several depots, notably in Attignat in Ain, as well as in Sancé, Montchanin, and Chalon-sur-Saône in Saône-et-Loire. Furthermore, we also have an urban depot in Beaune in Côte d’Or, where several of our drivers are assigned to intercity lines. Specifically in Attignat, we have around fifty drivers; many of whom provide two types of services: school transportation for primary schools and for middle schools.
What is your activity in Attignat?
In addition to our main services, we also operate some tourist, occasional, regular, and SNCF lines. However, it is important to note that the majority of our activity concerns intercity transportation.
Which clients do you work for at the Attignat depot?
We work with Le Grand Bourg, which is the Community of Agglomeration of the Bourg-en-Bresse Basin, the Departmental Council of Saône-et-Loire, as well as with intermunicipalities and SNCF.
The entity Keolis Val de Saône spans across several departments with depots that are distant from each other. Do you apply the same guidelines in each depot?
We operate in a similar manner across all depots, but each depot has its own specificities, and we have the freedom to adjust guidelines accordingly. Currently, we have a general manager, and each center has its own director.
We support each other when certain services cannot be provided by a specific depot. It’s a bit complicated because the area is vast, but in closer sectors, we still manage to assist each other.
Since when and under what circumstances do you use Flexnav?
Since around 2020, we have been using Flexnav primarily for the training of new drivers, so they can learn the routes. Experienced drivers also use it when assigned to a sector they haven’t serviced in a while. This allows them to refresh their memory of the route using GPS guidance, making them more confident.
Yes, it’s an excellent tool! When I worked with Christophe in July, I wasn’t in the office yet. We reviewed all the routes and itineraries to provide optimal guidance, although there are still some areas for improvement. This work was done in collaboration with the drivers, who report various issues regarding bus stop placements or routes upon their return to the depot.
Today, we achieve a route quality rate of 99.9% using this tool. This is reflected in the usage statistics, which have significantly increased since this update. Drivers have gradually embraced the tool enthusiastically.
We are so tightly scheduled that training our drivers is not always easy. Like everywhere else, the shortage of drivers is a problem, and we have new recruits to train for the new term as we will have more services to manage. We show them the routes: for some, once is enough, but for others, it’s not.
The application helps and reassures them during this learning phase.
Have you noticed an improvement in service quality?
Yes, they use the application on their smartphones. We also have a driver portal in the office displayed on a screen, which shows them the route as needed and allows them to prepare before starting the journey.
