For a period of 4 years (2009-2013): 3 stakeholders —the Time Office, in conjunction with the Mobility and Transport Department of Rennes City & Metropolis, as well as Keolis, the metro operator— worked together to develop a partnership methodology on the following basis:
- The time office first carried out a time diagnosis to identify the “time generators”, stakeholders whose schedules generate large flows of traffic at specific times. The Office used ticketing data, counts, field observations…
- A consultation process on the Villejean-Université metro station was initiated with those time generators affected by the hyperpeak: the University of Rennes, major secondary schools, and the nearby hospital centre. The metro station provided services for all of them.
- The aim was to show the stakeholders their participation in a “schedule system” and the impact of their individual schedule decisions on the rhythm and accessibility of the whole area. University catering service, student mutual societies and student representatives were involved in the consultation process.
- In 2012, a pilot test was launched with partial staggered classes and a two-wave start to the new academic year: 6.000 students in the 3rd year of Bachelor’s and in Master’s Degree started at 8:15 a.m., while 8.000 students in the 1st and 2nd year of Bachelor’s Degree started at 8:30 a.m.
- Singing of a Charter: all partners undertook the compromise to inform each other Of any changes to their schedules that may affect the whole area.
- It’s working! Right from the start of the experiment, the hyperpeak was smoothed out, and both the metro service and the students’ quality of improved.
