Our strategy : meeting the major challenges of mobility

In 2025 Keolis had a busy commercial year featuring a string of successes in the Group’s traditional markets in France and around the world. The Group’s teams rose to the challenge of improving operational performance. Keolis embarked on a new chapter in 2026 with the arrival of chairman Frédéric Van Heems, whose main tasks will be to lead the Group’s teams in further strengthening their commitment to serving local communities and accelerating profitable growth through to 2030.

How would you sum up 2025 for the Keolis Group?

2025 was a busy year, marked by a healthy commercial momentum and the outstanding mobilisation of our teams who stepped up and delivered on their operational performance goals. In France, the Group consolidated its status as a leading partner for public transport authorities by winning back all the major urban networks up for re-tender, among which the big contracts of Rennes and Tours, and made significant inroads in the French regions. In Île-de-France, Keolis held a 24% market share at the end of 2025 to become the Paris region’s second largest operator of road-bound public transport. The year was also a milestone in business development in the railway segment abroad, with noteworthy new contract wins in India (the Pune metro), Canada (the future high speed train, Alto), and the United Arab Emirates (a joint venture with Etihad Rail to launch the first passenger rail service between Dubai and Abu Dhabi). On the bus market outside France, the Group reinforced its positions in Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States.

You took up your post in March 2026. What are your first thoughts on the Group?

I would first like to pay tribute to the work of my predecessor Marie-Ange Debon, and I would also like to thank Jérôme Tolot and the members of the Supervisory Board for the confidence they have placed in me. I have joined a company that is robust and has a totally people-centric and hospitable culture, which is something I particularly appreciate. I have spent my first few weeks going out and meeting the teams on the ground, and I’ve always received a very warm welcome. They are incredibly professional and committed to what they do.

What do you care most about in your role as chairman?

I’m a strong believer in the power of collective enthusiasm. My guiding light is the desire to generate a sense of meaning behind our public service mission. I care about promoting the commitment of our teams, fostering innovation and reinforcing our positive impact on communities. I have a habit of telling people that I’m a CEO with three E’s: Energy, Efficiency and Enthusiasm. I intend to adopt that mindset moving forward as I embody an ambitious vision for sustainable mobility, for the benefit of citizens and future generations. I firmly believe that a company like Keolis must adopt a pragmatic approach, remaining constantly mindful of our two key pillars: people, who uphold our mission as a public service provider, and business, which is essential to accelerate profitable growth.

What are your priorities for Keolis in 2026 and beyond?

The absolute priority is the health and safety of our people and our passengers. No ifs, no buts: they are non-negotiable. We must therefore continue to work towards improving our results in this area. Furthermore, I want to accelerate Keolis’s profitable growth in the coming years. This will require a robust, selective and ambitious commercial approach, and will entail expanding our footprint in strategic zones and on profitable projects. Finally, we will continue to reflect on our role and offer public transport authorities a form of mobility that is like us and unites us. By that, I mean responsible mobility, available and accessible to all, where the passenger experience drives its appeal through quality, execution and innovation. These priorities reflect my conviction that our mission is truly essential, and we must continue to deliver it to high standards and with an ambitious and pragmatic outlook, remaining close to the needs of communities.

The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a frame of reference and a universal action plan to transform our societies by 2030. In 2020, Keolis identified eight SDGs to which the Group and its subsidiaries make a contribution on a daily basis:

Keolis has been a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact since 2004 and is committed to respecting and promoting its ten principles. In 2018, Keolis strengthened its commitment by joining the "GC Advanced" club, the highest reporting level of the initiative.