RATP Dev has been awarded the contract to manage Asheville Redefines Transit (ART), the transit services for the city of Asheville, North Carolina.
Fort Worth, TX (August 14, 2017) – Today, RATP Dev, a global leader in public transit,
announced it has been awarded the contract to manage Asheville Redefines Transit (ART), the
transit services for the city of Asheville, North Carolina. The City of Asheville selected RATP
Dev through a national competitive process that awarded the contract based on best value
procurement. Contract services are set to begin September 23, 2017 and will cover an initial
period of four years with two additional two-year renewal options. RATP Dev has appointed
Bernadette Townsend to serve as ART’s new general manager.
Under the terms of the contract, RATP Dev will directly supervise ART’s daily operations for
the Fixed Route bus services in Buncombe County. Presently, ART has 22 biodiesel buses in
service, seven of which are hybrid, and currently run 18 routes throughout the area, servicing
more than 1.4 million riders annually.
“The City of Asheville is delighted to be working with RATP Dev,” said Elias Mathes,
Asheville’s Transit Project Coordinator. “The incoming team certainly has a proven track record
of successfully building and managing mass transit systems in North Carolina, and we believe
they are the ideal operators to manage ART and continue our initiative to provide a more
efficient, tech savvy, and greener transit system for our community.”
ART is RATP Dev’s third contract in North Carolina, the others being the Charlotte Area
Transit (CATS) in the Queen City’s metropolitan area and Buncombe County’s Mountain
Mobility.
“RATP Dev America is excited to be working in more locations in North Carolina, and bring our
worldwide expertise to Asheville,” said Blaine Rigler, VP of RATP Dev Bus Division. “We are
honored that the city council trusts our leadership and experience to uphold and improve the
fixed route bus services in Asheville and throughout Buncombe County moving forward.”
Located in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is vibrant and historic city
with a thriving arts scene and easy access to North Carolina’s natural splendor. With a
population of approximately 425,000 residents in the metropolitan area, and home to the
University of of North Carolina at Asheville, the city has growing public transit needs and is
seeking to preserve the beauty of their stretch of the Blue Ridge Mountains with their on-going
sustainable transit initiatives.