The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)

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The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris

   The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project
                             (19743)

                                                 Yo Kaminagai
                        RATP Head of Design, Projects management Department, Paris, France

Abstract

The Osmose bus station demonstrator is the result of an advanced design operation managed by the RATP, as a
component of the EBSF (European Bus System of the Future) project, about new urban facilities for the future of
the bus system. The station was installed in May 2012 for a 6 months experiment. It has been considered as a
highly successful product creating comfort and pleasure, and bringing services to the passengers and also to the
neighbourhood.
Because the station dismantling was cancelled, due to a Paris City Council demand to keep it, the RATP has
decided to transform it in a living lab until the installation of a new generation of shelter in 2015. This station
will be used as an incubator of innovative services for public space transport stations.
This presentation explains the story of this station (how it has been prepared, built, and evaluated), and presents
the knowledge gathered through this operation, dealing with a new technical and business culture, and the
interesting perspectives this station announces in the future public space equipments for the surface transport.

Keywords: bus station; bus stops; bus shelters; advanced design; urban furniture; public space; business model ;
RATP; Paris.

Résumé

Le démonstrateur de station de bus Osmose est le résultat d’une opération de design avancé conduite par la
RATP, comme composante du projet EBSF (European Bus System of the Future), à propos de nouveaux
services urbains destinés au système bus du futur. La station a été installée en mai 2012 pour une
expérimentation de 6 mois. Elle a été considérée comme un produit à grand succès, créant du confort et du
plaisir, et apportant des services aux voyageurs ainsi qu’aux riverains.
A cause de l’abandon du démontage de la station, à la suite d’une demande de maintien de la Mairie de Paris, la
RATP a decide de la transformer en un living lab jusqu’à l’installation d’une nouvelle génération d’abris en
2015. La station servira d’incubateur à des services innovants pour des espaces de transport en espace public.
Cette présentation raconte l’histoire de cette station (sa préparation, sa construction, son évaluation), et présente
la connaissance acquise au travers de cette opération, qui touche une nouvelle culture technique et économique,
et les intéressantes perspectives que cette station annonce dans les futurs équipements d’espace publics pour le
transport de surface.

Mots-clé: station de bus ; arrêt de bus ; abris voyageurs ; design avancé ; mobilier urbain ; espace public ;
modèle économique ; RATP ; Paris
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris   2

1. Strategic objectives for a more attractive bus station

The EBSF project has been initiated in 2009 to redefine bus transportation as a system by adapting it to the
specific features of European towns and cities. It is intended to enhance the image of bus networks based on a
global approach that includes vehicles, information systems, operating methods infrastructures, stations, and
integration in the urban environment.
Seven test operations have already been conducted in European cities (Budapest, Madrid, Rouen, Gothenburg,
Bremerhaven, Brunoy and Rome) in the EBSF project. The RATP experiment in Paris, added and launched only
in 2010, is the eighth and final operational test of the project: it is the only one exclusively focused on a station

1.1. The bus stations levels
The bus networks use the following types of stations in the cities:
    Single bus stops (poles with signage): although most of them are industrial products respecting national
        standards, some of them are particular and belong to local urban heritages (Vienna, Berlin, Paris, London
        Rome, ...).
    Bus shelters: since the seventies, creating sheltered waiting areas has been made possible due to a new
        business model based on advertisement, but many of the shelters models fail in comfort, ergonomics or
        information features because they have first been designed to fulfill advertising efficiency objectives.
    Bus platforms for stations with heavy traffic: mostly made of several bus shelters, only some BRT
        systems have been fitted with well designed stations (Curitiba, Bogota, Istanbul, Brisbane, Nantes …),
        similar to tram stations solutions.
    Bus terminals: existing throughout the world gathering many endstops and some passage stops, many of
        them, considered as urban spots for their cities, have been carefully designed as original and very visible
        architectural realizations, often integrating retail, street food, or diverse urban services in a mix-use
        approach
The purpose of the EBSF study was to fill the gap between the basic solutions that are sufficient for local stops
(single poles or shelters with advertisement) and the bus terminals. Therefore the aim of the EBSF bus station
project is to demonstrate how a multifunctional station could be created at a small scale, compatible with the
current bus stations locations in the cityscapes.

1.2. How to make a bus station more attractive?
Except the bus terminals, only few bus stops in the world have been identified as multifunctional places, like on
the Ring in Vienna or at Jungfernstieg in Hamburg. Even if some interesting architectural or artistic realizations
have been found, they are mostly on BRT or tram lines, or as isolated special stations. Current bus stops, shelters
or stations are basic and not multifunctional.
This observation was cross-referenced with the RATP Osmose research findings made in 2009 about metro
stations, which has shown that future stations should be:
    Enhanced: a station in the city must not be limited to transport functions, and can be open to urban
         functions not directly linked to the transport system,
    Shared: these complementary functions can be installed and operated by other service providers than the
         transport operator, and the decisions must be taken in partnership between transport and local authorities,
    Upgradeable: because the service operators can be less stable than the transport operators, the station
         itself must be carefully designed for easy short- and mid-term evolutions,
    Expressive: to remain attractive for service operators and customers, the station design must not be
         anonymous or banal.
Through the idea of enhancement a station should become:
    More complete in transport services (in passengers information systems or in ticket purchase
         possibilities),
    More comfortable as a public space (larger identified area, more numerous seats, better protection against
         rain and snow, sun, rain, wind and water projections coming from the roadway),
    Fitted out with services selected to touch the citizens and the neighbourhood as well as the passengers.
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris

Therefore a bus station treated through the Osmose concept can be considered as a system made of two half-
products:
    a complete bus stop to enter in the bus network (or to get out of it),
    a new place integrated to the urban public space to add functions in the city.

1.3. Design and business objectives
The Osmose bus station demonstrator follows 4 objectives:
1. Design: create and test a new concept of an enhanced bus station, adaptable to different urban contexts and
    level of services, and show how such a station can add value to the bus networks and the cities, through a
    contemporaneous and innovative design adapted to the classical cityscapes (which are current in Paris).
2. Service: experiment new information systems for the bus passengers and new urban services to all the
    pedestrians (passengers, passers-by, neighborhood), evaluate the complementarities between the transport
    services and the other services, and find the good external services really adapted to the bus stations.
3. Business: convince the stakeholders (the local authorities, responsible for public space equipment, and the
    urban furniture commercial providers) to consider enhanced bus stations as realistic in the urban context,
    and to develop new business models making this level of solutions economically possible and sustainable.
4. Methods: test co-design methodologies associating different partners, and integrate the industrial furnishers
    as partners for this innovative development.

2. Definition of the Osmose bus station demonstrator

2.1. Location and characteristics of the bus stop chosen in Paris
The place selected for the Osmose station demonstrator on the RATP network was the existing “Gare de Lyon –
Diderot” bus stop (17 Boulevard Diderot) in the Paris 12 th district, the westbound bus stop of the very heavy line
91 serving the crowded southern part of the Paris city centre, and going to two important railway stations (Gare
d’Austerlitz and Gare Montparnasse). Two other lines and 5 night buses use also this bus stop, which belongs to
the Gare de Lyon hub (metro, RER, SNCF suburban trains, inter-city lines and TGV high speed train service, 9
day and 15 night bus lines).
The traffic measured at this bus stop reaches 8 500 boarding passengers on weekdays. Including the alighting
passengers, this stop sees less or more 15 000 persons per weekday. More than 50 passengers are waiting for a
bus at some periods, because of the regular arrivals of many main lines trains in Gare de Lyon.
The sidewalk where the project is located was a large and free one. The precise location was beside a café terrace
and between two trees, which of course couldn’t be cut or degraded.

2.2. Duration of the operation
The principle of a provisional construction installed for a six months period has been chosen instead of a
definitive station, to avoid too long administrative processes, to obtain a cheaper operation and also to be in tune
with the Paris City Council “Intelligent Urban Furniture” experimentation launched in 2012.
This operation occurred in a very positive period in Paris, gathering many different projects of contemporary
urban furniture and public space enhancement operations.

2.3. Specifications of the station
The RATP has produced the functional specifications for the EBSF bus station demonstrator from several
sources, gathering selected new ideas coming from transport operators, diverse public space stakeholders and
from the requirements issued from EBSF project:
     Its own knowledge based on previous tramway and bus stations specifications written for recent design
         tenders (Paris tram lines stations, RATP bus stops renewal design competition), and on prospective
         researches about possible Bus Rapid Transit lines for classical downtown cityscapes,
     Some other studies about bus interchanges, especially those made by the Madrid transport authority for
         the EBSF project and other researches made within the UITP frame,
     Some participative approaches made about innovative bus stations made with suburban local authorities
         involved in future projects,
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris   4

         The Osmose research findings about future metro and transport stations, and about innovative
          development and operating business models for transport places.
As a result of this compilation, design specifications have been written on the following subjects:
      Safety and security for passengers (sizes, location, strength, materials quality)
      Adaptation to traffic levels (accesses to buses, peak hour crowds)
      Protection (against rain and snow, wind and projections from the roadway, sun)
      Comfort (seats, shelters, visibility towards vehicles, location of information displays, light and sound
          atmosphere)
      Accessibility
      Passenger information and transport services (signage in and out of the station, real time information,
          interactive information about the network and the urban events, ticket vending machine)
      Urban integration (inclusion / emergence in the cityscape, connection with other modes)
      Industrial constraints (modularity, east mounting and dismantling)
      Easy cleaning and maintenance
      Integration of services for the passengers and for the neighborhood (retail, street-food, wifi, electricity,
          leisure, other mobility services as electric bikes)
      Environmental issues (energy saving, material choices)
      Identity for the station (harmony with the cityscape, coherence with the Parisian urban transport image
          and the RATP brand)
Several hand-made and computer-generated images and a computer animation were produced to illustrate this
project, to present it to the partners in the Parisian environment and in the EBSF and UITP conferences and to be
sure that the understanding of the concept was correct.
This hand-made drawing has summarized the brief given to the designer.

              Fig. 1. Schematic view of an enhanced bus station illustrating the RATP design specifications.

3. The Osmose bus station design

3.1. The designer
To facilitate the bus station demonstrator development within the EBSF project schedule, the RATP has directly
subcontracted the work to the architect and designer Marc Aurel, who previously won a similar RATP design
competition and who is well known for his commitment to the quality of public space and urban furniture.
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris

3.2. The Osmose bus station features

                             Fig.2. Front view of the Osmose bus station demonstrator in Paris.

Size:
     85 m² on the ground, integrating two trees which couldn’t be cut or replaced for the demonstration,
     35 m² of covered area
Composition:
     Central shelter module with a canopy inspired by the Paris metro Guimard entrance canopy
     Modular shelter aisles, which can be combined to be adapted to diverse situations,
     Passages between the front side and the rear side creating porosity
Comfort and accessibility:
     Global accessibility for all the handicaps (even if the station couldn’t be fully flat because of tree roots)
     11 seats in 3 benches in metal and white ceramic, inspired by the Paris metro white tiles,
     Lateral and back glass protections against wind and rain,
     Dynamic lighting system creating 8 atmospheres during day, evening and night periods,
     Sound design with sequences adapted to each light atmosphere,
     Small mirror and shelves for the bags,
     A wooden floor made of specially treated boards, creating a more friendly and inviting atmosphere.

       Fig.3. a. The central module and the left aisle. b. The seats, the wooden ground and the integration of the trees

Information:
     Complete and resized signage (approaching the new legal French standards, compulsory in 2015):
             o lit panels with the station name, the bus lines numbers and the identification of the services,
             o two totems on each extremity with external faces in the RATP color to identify the station in
                 the cityscape, and internal faces with a wayfinding signage for the points of interest and the
                 transport lines in the vicinity (to help those who can’t memorize the content of the local maps)
     Classical maps (fixed and lit) with the bus network, the stopping lines maps, and a spider map, which
        remain compulsory because an important part of the public still don’t use interactive devices.
     Two 42” real time screens (waiting times for the lines of the station and messages for the disruptions),
     Two 42” interactive touch screens coupled with the real time screens: they present the local area
        resources (transport, streets, points of interest) and some cultural news prepared by the Paris 12 th
        arrondissement city council
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris     6

 Fig.4. Information. a. Internal signage, screens. b. Maps and signage with lighting. c & d. Real time and interactive screens

Transport services:
     A standard RATP tickets vending machine
Publicity:
     a standard double-sided 2 m² luminous publicity panel, with posters presenting the operation and the
         partners during the experiment (instead of normal advertisement posters).
Urban services:
     Electric bikes station: recommended by the Paris City Council, five electric bikes, were integrated on
         the back of the bus station, to create an innovative service for the neighbourhood
     A jobs classified ads terminal: also recommended by the Paris City Council, this component was placed
         on the back of the station to be used by passengers as by passers-by (the jobs ads database is managed
         through an employment website)
     A 5 m2 retail corner, fitted with an electricity plug: this place has been used by several street-food
         retailers from May to September 2012.
     A defibrillator.
     A book-crossing library, filled by second hand books brought by a local association: this library
         immediately creates a different image to the bus station.

         Fig.5.Services. a. Retail corner with a coffee shop. b.Electric bikes, book-crossing library and defibrillator

Identity:
     The brief given to the designer by the RATP was to create a multifunctional station able to welcome
          several confirmed or innovative services, rather than a contemporary urban object which could generate
          a bad acceptance in terms of style and image for Paris.
     Therefore Marc Aurel has produced a very integrated station, inspired by some Paris metro historical
          details (as the Guimard entrances canopy and the white tiles), and coloured in a discrete beige similar to
          the Paris classical buildings walls.

4. The evaluation context

4.1. The stations in the bus system
The importance of the stations in the bus culture varies between the countries. For urban networks, the situations
refer to the rank occupied by the bus mode in the different mental representations. It seems that in some
countries like in France, this rank is not high enough for the bus mode, and this explains the following situations:
      The bus shelters are almost exclusively paid through outdoor publicity contracts: no costs are expected
         in the operators and municipalities budgets;
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris

        There are no serious solutions for heavy traffic bus stops: the most used principle is the doubling of
         standard bus shelters (despite some interesting ans original solutions developed for French tram s);
     The bus terminals are rarely considered as interesting architectural issues, except when they must be
         design when new tram lines appear.
Therefore, in a service design approach, the bus waiting situations appear, because of their low quality, as one of
the worst touch points an operator has to deal with, although the desire and awareness about enhanced modern
tram projects is very high.

4.2. The stakes carried by the Osmose bus station demonstrator
The Osmose bus station demonstrator had to convince the local authorities and their transport authorities, by
seducing the users, involving the actual public space operators and inviting some new service operators to
participate.
In other terms, obtaining a high level of satisfaction among the users was not enough: a true success exist if a
municipality decides to realize such stations for real, through classical investment programs or through publicity
funded urban furniture contracts. For Paris, one of the targets was the Paris City Council, which has launched:
      The “Intelligent urban furniture” call for projects in 2011, to experiment many connected and intelligent
         objects for the Paris public space,
      The tender for a new generation of bus shelters, to replace in 2015 those installed in 1992.
Consequently, the Osmose bus station demonstrator was appearing as a strategic contribution brought by the
RATP to feed these operations.

5. Observed impacts

5.1. Users
Through public surveys ordered by the RATP, the main results appeared extremely positive:
     In a spontaneous or assisted way, 98 % of the users quote a positive element of the station. They
        correctly identify the different functions of the station and its physical features (design of the station,
        information systems, additional services) are appreciated: the space design is positively quoted at 65 %,
        the services are well identified at 59 %, the modernity and the image of the station is quoted at 40 %.
     The global note given is 8.1 / 10, which is a very high evaluation.
     Even if the services are less used than appreciated (except the real time waiting time displays), the
        innovative services (street-food, book-crossing library) are identified as enhancing the quality of the
        station.
     This station directly improves the customer experience of the bus users and boosts the RATP image.

5.2. About disabled passengers
A special presentation has been organized for the RATP Accessibility Committee, gathering all the associations
in partnership with the company. A specific analysis has been conducted and a precise report has been produced,
highlighting the fact that, as already announced in the description of the station, the station couldn’t be designed
completely accessible because of levelling problems.

5.3. The neighbourhood
The bus station was surrounded by a residence on the back side: unfortunately the inhabitants of this building
have criticized the project because of the noisy and dusting works for the construction of the station, and also for
the presence of non-desirable people at some periods (evenings and nights especially during the warm season).

These identified problems have shown that the relations with the neighbourhood must be fully managed if some
future bus stations are transformed in enhanced places.

5.4. Industrial partners of the operation
This operation has generated very positive reactions before, during and after the experimental period:
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris   8

        Many industrial sub-contractors have accepted to price their products or services at a very low rate and
         some have offered their participation without any fee: from the beginning, the visibility of this
         operation had been understood as very interesting for their own businesses.
     During the experimental periods, most of the sub-contractors have participated to the maintenance very
         easily; some of them have tested new solutions, using the station as a stress-test location for their
         products.
     After the end of the experimental period all the industrial partners have expressed their positive
         intention to go on if the station should be kept (see § 7)
The Osmose bus station has been considered as one of the first steps opening perhaps a new market for enhanced
places in the public space.

5.5. The Paris City Council
The impact of the Osmose bus station demonstrator on the eco-system in charge of the bus shelters in the public
space in Paris was very important. The station could be presented to all the Paris City services: this demonstrator
arrived just in time to convince all the municipal representatives that an enhanced station was not a bulky object
in the public space, but really a new service for the Parisians.
The tender prepared by the Paris City to replace all the bus shelters in 2015, has directly taken in account:
      the fact that 100 bigger and enhanced stations will be planned among the 2000 bus shelters to be
         replaced.
      an ambitious renewal of the real time information systems.
      the possibility of integrating in the stations some innovative services adapted to the transport objectives
         and to the local neighbourhoods.
In addition, the Paris City has refused the station dismantling after the 6 months demonstration period.
Consequently the RATP has prepared its transformation as a living-lab committing the RATP and the Paris City
(through the Paris Region Innovation Lab) and other stakeholders (see § 7).

5.6. The urban furniture operators
The current bus shelters operator, JCDecaux, has been involved as partner in the bus station demonstrator (as
furnisher for the jobs classified ads terminal and as operator for regular cleaning). This type of enhanced station
has appeared coherent with its own development strategy .

5.7. The STIF (the Ile-de-France Passengers Transport Executive)
The Osmose station demonstrator has facilitated a decision about real time information systems, taken by the
STIF during the experimentation. Observing that the real time information displays installed in the current bus
shelters would be soon obsolete, a complete and ambitious renewal of these systems in the future generation of
bus shelters has been decided, and an official letter signed by the RATP and the STIF to the Paris City has
announced the financing of this renewal.

5.8. The RATP
The consequence on the RATP image was very positive. The good results measured on the users were confirmed
by an impressive impact on all the medias, because the subject was really matching the expectations of the
journalists, transmitting the needs of the urban passengers in their daily lives. Beyond the French medias,
numerous international ones have broadcasted programs about the EBSF bus station demonstrator in Paris (TV
Globo – Brazil, Televisa – Mexico, NHK – Japan, …).
This realization has received four design awards (Janus de l’Innovation 2012, Etoile de l’Observeur 13, UITP
Design award 2013, and German Design award 2014 special mention). It has been noticed in the design world
because of its accuracy: far from a spectacular realization, this station has been understood as an innovative
service touching directly the urban citizens.
The very positive results of the passengers’ survey, the impressive impact on the medias, and the design awards
received have confirmed the proactive strategy followed by the RATP team. All these results have make easier
the decision to transform the station in a living lab (see § 7). The surface transport environments (stops, shelters,
stations, terminals) have been understood as a probable new marketplace which must be deeply studied by the
RATP to allow new progresses in the service to passengers.
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris

6. Conclusions of the experimentation

6.1. Design conclusions
The main findings revealed by this project are the following:
     Acceptability of a mid-size station in the urban public space
        A rather big station (85 m²) can appear correctly scaled on a sidewalk if it is well designed in space
        planning, in style and colors, and if it integrates the good functions. This was not obvious before the
        experiment because of the lack of good examples.
     Efficiency of the mix-use principle
        The principle of a mix-use space with two complementary objectives (towards transport and towards
        the city) is justified the functions are correctly combined: on the transport side the main functions are
        about comfort (sheltering, protection, seating), information (real time displays, resized signage,
        classical printed information) and atmosphere (lighting, sound design, materials), and on the city side
        the functions must be correctly chosen to match the users’ expectations (passengers, passers-by,
        neighbors) and this domain has been revealed as a potential field of innovation.
     Pivotal role for passengers’ information
        The passengers’ information features are extremely important. Even if the digital systems are now
        central in the modern urban life, the classical printed maps and tables and the signage system remain
        pivotal and all these displays compose a whole set which must keep priority in the station design.
     The stations must be upgradeable
        If the transport functions in a bus station are stable, the added service functions seem more fragile or
        even precarious. Because the urban public space is a new marketplace, the viability of the service
        operators can be uncertain. Therefore, the station design must be easily upgradeable, facilitating the
        services closures without consequences on the station’s image, and easy installations of new operators.
     Design inspired by the local style and the heritage
        The high acceptance of the demonstrator was also due to the designer’s talent. Parisians have
        recognized the details linked to the Paris Public Transport landscape. In each location the urban
        furniture must combine standardized basics and locally customized parts

6.2. Business conclusions
From the beginning of this operation the design case has been presented as parallel to a business case:
     A principle to clear sidewalks in a public space policy
        Many cities want to clear their public spaces, too filled by components independently decided. Even in
        Paris, where the municipality manages very strictly the public spaces, some recent additions have
        saturated many locations. In this situation, an enhanced bus station can solve some cases if a good space
        planning policy identifies the functions to be gathered.
     Several financing methods
        The simplest way to finance enhanced stations is through classical investment programs made by
        transport authorities, in which the stations costs are integrated to the project costs. An alternative
        financing solution is possible through the existing integrated bus shelters contracts, signed between
        municipalities and outdoor publicity operators, if some conditions are respected: a low proportion of
        enhanced stations (not more than 5 %) and a long the contracting period (more than 10 years).
     High economic impact of the information and communication systems
        The costs structure of the bus shelters fitted with real time displays reveal the importance of the
        information and communication systems in the global cost. Therefore, because an enhanced station
        includes many new technologies features, they must be considered as investments able to create new
        revenues. In the seventies, the outdoor luminous publicity panels have changed the business model of
        the bus shelters. From now, the integration of the digital systems must generate new business models.
     Innovation in business models
        Like Apple, inventor of iPods, iPhones and iPads, which pays itself through revenues from users and
        apps developers, the urban furniture world should enter in a new era. If the urban public space is
        considered as a marketplace, the urban furniture operators could invest in enhanced bus stations and
        invent new revenue processes beyond the publicity channel: the diffusion of apps in the digital displays
        or the integration of new services in dedicated corners represent the two first new revenue channels.
The RATP Osmose bus station demonstrator, for the EBSF project (19743)
Yo Kaminagai / Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris   10

6.3. Research conclusions
The Osmose bus station demonstrator was included in the EBSF project, which was a research operation. As an
operational research, this demonstrator has brought several findings:
     Proof of concept for the enhanced urban bus station
         The concept of a bus station enhanced with functions which are external to the transport domain has
         been proved.
     Business case and design case
         Through this research, the eco-system of bus shelters and bus stations in the cities have been identified
         and explained. Behind the design study, the business findings have made this research operation more
         credible and more economically interesting. In the future, the association between a design side and a
         business side will represent a new format of research operation.
     Efficiency of concept products in an advanced design process
         Operational design brings solutions. Advanced design creates awareness and facilitates the building of
         new strategies. In this research operation using design, the bus station demonstrator was like a concept
         car. More than verbal or visual, the station itself has created an experiential tool to expand and enlarge
         the decision-makers universe. The existence of real users, and the level satisfaction obtained were the
         best arguments, and the use of a concept product as tool has appeared very efficient.
The Osmose bus station demonstrator for the EBSF project will have strategically contributed to improve
dramatically the quality of the urban bus stations.

7. Following steps for the Osmose bus station

For the RATP the operation has been a complete success. For its users, for its institutional partners, for its
corporate reputation, this Osmose bus station demonstrator and the EBSF project have appeared as really
innovative operations, contributing with optimism to the future of urban life.
To help the Paris City Council tender for the next generation of bus shelters, the main following step for the
Osmose station will be assumed by the RATP, which will transform the station in a “living lab”, in partnership
with Paris Region Innovation Lab, the experimental organization created by the Paris City Council and the Ile-
de-France Regional Council. To go on exploring this new research domain (which sustainable services in the
urban public space?), the Gare de Lyon bus station will make possible the testing of new services coming from
the retail sector or from the collaborative economy sector in public space.
.

References
Guida U. and Zebrowski M. (2012). The EBSF Bus Station Demonstrator in Paris. In EBSF, The European Bus
System of the Future Demonstrations (pp. 44-55).UITP, Rue Ste-Marie 6, Brussels.

Mairie de Paris. (2013). Retour d’expérience sur l’appel à projets “Mobilier urbain intelligent”. In Le Mobilier
urbain à Paris, (pp. 48 & 51). Mairie de Paris, Direction de l’Urbanisme
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