For the Saybus and Réunir teams, the adventure of the Olympic Games began with their response to a call for tenders from Paris 2024 to provide transport for accredited persons to the host cities, the co-host cities. This process involved writing a technical brief and taking part in orals, the result of collaboration between Saybus’s Operations Department and Réunir’s Development and Innovations Department.
‘We really wanted to experience this project to the full’ says Marjolaine, Director of Operations at Saybus.
After many months of work, it was during the Réunir Annual Conference in Corsica, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Réunir Group, that Alexandre Delvallez, Managing Director, announced to the teams that they had won the tender.
‘It was an explosion of joy for everyone’ recalls Jessica.
Meticulous organisation for an ambitious challenge
Emotion gave way to meticulous organisation for this operation, which promised to be full of challenges.
The first step was to assign each member of the Saybus team responsibility for transport operations in one or more host cities, managed from the BOC, the Bus Operation Centre in Aulnay-sous-Bois. Hugo Perier was given responsibility for Nantes, Lyon, Saint-Étienne and Bordeaux, Jessica Tchissambot for Lille, and Marjolaine Berthier for Châteauroux and Marseille.
Their mission: to liaise between the Paris 2024 teams, the members, the Saybus teams and Réunir, in order to guarantee fluid communication and the rapid adaptation of resources in the event of changes.
Following a number of meetings with the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG), it was first necessary to manage the accreditation of over 1,000 drivers to transport passengers. Preparations then focused on drawing up the transport plans, including the planning of the coach routes, field visits to validate the routes and on-site simulations. A number of tests were then carried out in the host towns by the member SMEs, to ensure that the vehicles ran smoothly during the operational period.
An experience marked by mutual aid and cohesion
Managing an event of this magnitude inevitably entails some last-minute unforeseen events: adding or changing itineraries, new destinations, adjusting timetables, etc. However, the flexibility and cohesion of the members of the Réunir Associative Group meant that these challenges could be met successfully.
‘Saybus has been facilitating relations between members for years,’ says Marjolaine. This joint project has also brought the Saybus and Réunir teams closer together, combining their respective strengths and expertise.
Anne-Claire Launay, Director of Development and Innovation at Réunir, says: ‘The Olympic Games are an emblematic joint project.
Congratulations to the Saybus and Réunir teams for their remarkable work and commitment to this major project! 👏 We owe this great success to the cohesion and responsiveness of our crack teams! You are our champions 💪🏆
‘Saybus is a major player in mobility’