RET is on the move

Rotterdam Electric Tram, RET, is about to implement a number of changes. These changes will occur rapidly and involve not only the organisation itself but also its equipment and its partnerships with other transport companies. Pedro Peters, CEO of RET, explains all.

The first major change RET will implement is the introduction of a smart card on trams and buses in the Rotterdam transport area. The smart card is already in limited use on the Rotterdam metro. At the same time, RET is preparing itself for 2007, the year in which the current state-owned company will become a plc. Substantial investments are also being made in new vehicles and in the construction of the first large-scale light rail system in the Netherlands, RandstadRail, which is now well under way. Pedro Peters, general manager of the RET since 1 June 2005, therefore has every reason to be extremely proud of his company, although he acknowledged that there is a lot of work ahead.

No more moaning

Despite the hectic situation, Peters is taking plenty of time to review all developments: “The nice thing about my job as director of the RET is that the company is socially relevant and at the same time enterprising. In other words it has both a social and corporate face, in which commercialisation and efficiency go hand in hand. There is still some work to be done within the company, which could take a while…… but we will succeed; I have no doubt about that.

“You therefore often hear me calling for an end to any complaining within the company. I want the staff to invest in the future of our company too. In other words, no more moaning because RET is investing in the future!

“Soon we will be the first public transport company in Europe to have 90 Citaro buses, which meet the ‘Euro 5’ standards. We will also soon have a further 53 brand new trams and 21 new metros. In the context of the project ‘Tram 2008’, we are already very busy putting in place a schedule of requirements with which the new trams must comply. In two years time these new trams will be in use. If we add up all the investments we are making, it’s quite a list. In addition to this investment, the emphasis in the coming years will also be on innovation.”

First for Rotterdam

Peters is referring, among other things, to the massive RandstadRail project. Together, the RET and HTM, the public transport company in The Hague, will be providing rapid, direct, comfortable and frequent public transport between The Hague, Rotterdam and Zoetermeer from the end of 2006. This was commissioned by the Haaglanden Metropolitan District and the Rotterdam Metropolitan Area.

“These connections within the Randstad are vitally important if we want to present public transport as a serious alternative to the car,” Peters said. “The innovative of the scheme is in keeping with Rotterdam in general and with RET’s approach in particular. We like to lead the way, whilst also being aware of all possible start-up problems and teething troubles, such as what has happened with another important innovative project – the introduction of the smart card for public transport,” explained Peters.

“There have been some hold-ups with the national roll-out of the smart card, but we are extremely proud of this first for Rotterdam. I think it’s wonderful that we are the first city in the Netherlands and the first public transport company here to make use of the card. Neither the card nor the technology is actually that unique but the special thing about this smart card is that it can be used across all forms of public transport. It will soon be possible to use the card on trains, buses, trams and metro, no matter what company they belong to, throughout the Netherlands.

“The company Translinksystem (TLS), set up for the purpose by the major transport companies (including the NS, Connexxion, the Municipal Public Transport Company of Amsterdam and the RET) will take care of the payment side, with the aid of the very latest technology. The system will be comparable to Interpay and customers will receive a highly advanced card, which will be much more than just a travel ticket in the future; it will also serve as a means of payment, among other things.

“Apart from the comfort and security of carrying just one card, it will also provide passengers with a more honest form of charging, because calculations will be based on the number of kilometres actually travelled, rather than on complicated ‘zones’. It will also soon be possible to upgrade the card online. In addition to the anonymous smart card, there will be a ‘personal’ version bearing a photo, which can be reloaded automatically if desired and renewed online after five years; what more could a customer wish for?” Peters asked.

Check in and check out

A recent study by TNO looked into users’ initial experience with the smart card and at the reliability of the technology. According to Peters, the study showed that the card exceeded expectations. Negative points related mainly to technical flaws and the fact that the card could only be used on the metro as yet: “These complaints about malfunctions are mainly connected to the large amount of information contained on the chip. All the different types of subscriptions offered by all of the companies involved with the scheme have to be put on the chip, for instance, and that makes it extremely complicated in terms of the software.

“But a lot of work is going into solving these problems. The Transport Minister recently decided that the public transport ’strip card’ would be abolished throughout the Netherlands at the end of 2008. In Rotterdam we are already hard at work preparing for this; for example we are converting all vehicles in record time, in a temporary dedicated assembly plant in an empty depot. This involves fitting card readers, on-board computers and wiring in the vehicles.

“Thanks to ingenious planning, our services will not be disrupted by this gigantic transformation job. We are also on schedule when it comes to getting all the stations ready. This includes the construction of turnstiles, because with the introduction of the smart card for public transport, soon all passengers will need to check in and out at all stations in order to access the platforms. This actually improves public safety no end, as we have already noticed in recent months. After all, the stations are only accessible to paying passengers and are closed outside operating hours. The percentage of fare dodgers has fallen sharply and the public perception of safety, something high on the political agenda, has risen.

“The presence of the vandalism-proof turnstiles (1.80 metres high) alone has had a preventative effect. Also the use of CCTV also increases the sense of safety. Some 12,000 cameras now record images of virtually every nook and cranny of the 48 metro stations. These images are closely monitored by our Traffic Control Centre. Cameras have already been built into the new Citaro buses. We are therefore doing everything we can to not only to transport our customers quickly and in comfort but also, and more importantly, safely.

“With a view to the further roll-out of the public transport smart card, a comprehensive publicity campaign will be launched in Rotterdam this autumn. We hope that this will increase the number of people using the card from the current 40,000 to some 800,000. This is an ambitious goal, which I believe can be achieved, considering all the enthusiasm for the card,” assessed Peters.

Economical and clean vehicles on the streets

Returning to the new buses, Peters believes these are definitely one of the showpieces of RET’s services: ‘When I took up this position over a year ago, the environmental problem of fine dust played an important role. By investing in modern and environmentally-friendly city buses, we can drastically reduce emissions of fine dust in the city centre. For that matter, our older diesel buses have also been fitted with a special sort of soot filter, so that they comply with the strict ‘Euro 5’ standard. The Citaro buses are, however, not only cleaner, but also produce very little noise and are very comfortable for passengers. For example, the low floor makes it a lot easier for people with a buggy to board. Furthermore, screens on board the bus provide dynamic travel information. This will reduce hold-ups at bus stops, because the drivers will be less distracted by passengers seeking assistance and information. Another important advantage of this series of Mercedes buses is that they require very little maintenance. That was a decisive factor in this investment, considering the need for efficiency and to cut costs,” Peters commented.

Commercialisation means improvement

In addition to improving efficiency and quality, RET is also concentrating on preparing for its forthcoming privatisation.

“The progressive commercialisation of the public transport market in the Netherlands is linked with performance-related management on the part of the authorities: ‘better and less expensive’ is the motto,” said Peters.

“Our client too, Rotterdam Metropolitan Area, sets high standards which we must meet. This development must be viewed against the background of the Passenger Transport Act of 2000, which regulates the public tendering process. Our fellow pubic transport companies prepared for this more effectively and sooner. In that respect, RET therefore has some catching up to do. We have no choice and this could make it a bit difficult for our staff because we really are in a hurry. For too long we thought that it wouldn’t come to this, but we were wrong. We must be ready to face the competition and operate in conformity with the market.

“Personally, I think it’s a shame that the Netherlands is actually ‘more Catholic than the Pope’ with the Passenger Transport Act. It is unfair that we here in metropolitan areas are obliged to invite tenders from the rest of Europe, but that we may not, on the other hand, compete abroad. Nevertheless, I am convinced that we really have ourselves to thank for the effect of market forces in public transport. It is possible to operate more efficiently, even without the Act compelling us to do so. With regards to RET, the firm McKinsey has at least shown that we need to reduce our costs. As a result we are now very busy with an efficiency drive in the office. We have cut our staff from 3,400 to 2,900, for example. We are therefore doing ‘more with less’. Through more efficient rostering, we can continue to run according to the timetables.

“To reassure everyone: when we shortly become a plc, we will continue to operate as a ‘public’ company; it will not just revolve around money. There will definitely be no question of fat profits, rather than new investments in public transport and improved business management. This commercialisation will therefore benefit customers,” said Peters.

Technology supporting customer focus

Another development that is inextricably linked to this, in Peters’s opinion, is the shift by RET from being a company driven by technology to one driven by its customers, with technology as a supporting factor: “We are making a massive leap in terms of quality, and our customers are certainly noticing this. The frequency of our metro service is increasing, for instance, and new partnerships are emerging which improve the connections between different forms of public transport. RET is taking part in these new partnerships with great enthusiasm.

“Personally, I also see a lot of possibilities in the Hoekse Line for example, which would enable us, if the political will was there, to open up a large area in the direction of Vlaardingen and the Hook of Holland by means of high-grade public transport. Parallel with what is now happening with RandstadRail, we could have light rail operating here too on existing NS railway lines. That is what customers would like to see: reliable, fast, clean and sexy public transport in our increasingly congested region.

“We can offer this service jointly, with some radical infrastructural tours de force. Rotterdam Central Station, for instance, is one massive building site at the moment, but soon the metro will be running right under the city there. So instead of the 19,000 passengers travelling on the current Erasmus Line and the former Hofplein Line, it will be possible to carry some 46,000 people by metro on this line in the near future, by about 2011. These dimensions exceed the boundaries both literally and figuratively. In that respect, all forms of public transport are equally dear to me, whether we are talking about optimising the metro or upgrading the trams that have been running in Rotterdam for a hundred years into a high-grade TramPlus network. Public transport is a kind of virus I’ve caught. It is something that offers lots of possibilities and costs lots of money. And that makes it so difficult, because public transport really belongs to everyone and it isn’t easy to get it right. But mobility is such a substantial part of contemporary society, demanding radical choices. And I must say that these choices are made carefully by all parties involved, together with clients and consumer organisations.”

Positive about the future

“These aspirations to put Rotterdam and the RET on the map make this work so exciting because we can do it! If there is an event, such as the North Sea Jazz Festival (which was held this year for the first time in Rotterdam) or even for a catastrophe, we are there! And we really do what we say in Rotterdam; we get down to work. The free market system is coming, so the best thing we can do is co-operate constructively and make a success of it.

Based on this involvement, I look forward with confidence to the RET’s future, as a high-quality, contemporary and, primarily, customer-friendly public transport company,” said a passionate Peters, who combines a professional interest with a personal fondness for public transport.