IGPDecaux wins a 13-year contract for Rome Metro, buses and tramways in Italy

IGPDecaux has won the Metro, buses and tramways contract in Rome (population: 2.8 million). IGPDecaux is a company that is 60% owned by JCDecaux SE and 40% by the du Chène de Vère family.

Following a competitive tender awarded by ATAC, the city’s public transport company, thanks to a Project Financing proposal, the 13-year contract covers the upgrade of the Rome Metro Line A through a major regeneration of the stations that will also include the enhancement of the metro’s advertising assets (Lines A, B-B1, as well as Line C that had no advertising previously). IGPDecaux will also continue to operate the advertising on Rome’s buses and tramways. The Rome Metro, buses and tramways carry nearly 2.6 million passengers per day, totalling 940 million each year.

This intervention is part of a detailed plan by the Municipality of Rome to enhance the urban environment and introduce innovative services ahead of the Jubilee year in 2025, when millions of pilgrims and tourists are expected to visit Rome and the Vatican City. This contract is based on a hybrid model where Capex will be financed by a public subsidy and through advertising.

IGPDecaux will handle the detailed design and requalification works at 4 stations on Line A (Spagna, Ottaviano, Cipro by 2024, and San Giovanni by 2026). For the remaining 23 stations on Line A, IGPDecaux will conduct technical and economic feasibility studies, with ATAC directly carrying out the works.

Additionally, IGPDecaux will oversee the artistic direction for all 27 stations, ensuring a cohesive design that will respect each station’s unique artistic and structural characteristics while maintaining a consistent stylistic identity. This approach aims to enhance both the functionality and aesthetic appeal of the metro environments for users.

The refurbishment will also address wall coverings, which may include cleaning, restoration, and the installation of new materials as needed. Flooring upgrades will feature state-of-the-art, non-slip materials designed for easy maintenance, balancing functionality and design quality.

The project also includes technological upgrades and a complete overhaul of the signage system, featuring a uniform design across the entire line. The modernisation of the layout, based on detailed passenger movement analysis, aims to optimise the selection and organisation of information for clear, effective, and accessible communication, while transforming Rome’s metro into a digital hub. In addition, special pathways will be created to assist visually impaired passengers.

This renovation aims to improve the quality of services offered as well as the travel experience of metro users, benefiting both passengers and advertisers with renovated environments and more innovative and impactful advertising installations. The new layout, which also covers the B-B1 and C lines in addition to the A line, includes the high-profile digitisation of advertising sites, including more than 60 cross-track digital screens, over 166 iVision digital screens with increased station coverage, and the installation of LED wall systems of various sizes to create immersive areas in the mezzanine/lobby level of Spagna and Cipro stations. More than 300 analog spaces in a variety of different formats complete the metro’s offering.

In line with JCDecaux’s Climate strategy targeting Net Zero Carbon by 2050, Rome’s Metro contract aims to reduce carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy in the production phase (indirect emissions) and the power used by these newly installed virtuous products (lighting and digital).

Alberto Zorzan, General Director of ATAC, said: “The renovation of the metro A stations, which is an integral part of the tender that ATAC has awarded, has a high strategic value that is part of the profound modernisation of the Capital’s transport assets to which ATAC is dedicated. We are confident, moreover, that IGPDecaux, a company with considerable experience behind it, will be able to best interpret our needs by optimally performing the works that are the subject of its proposal. The transformation of the metro A stations will make them more welcoming and functional, being one of the qualifying points of the Jubilee plan. Our customers will be able to leverage benefits over a duration that goes beyond the Holy Year.”

Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “We are very proud to have been awarded this iconic contract in the Italian Capital, as we approach the Jubilee year in 2025. We would like to thank ATAC, one of the leading urban mobility operators in Italy and one of the largest Local Public Transport companies in Europe, for its confidence in IGPDecaux’s ability to successfully deliver Rome’s Metro contract. The project to upgrade an urban public space such as the metro aligns with our mission to sustainably improve the quality of life for all citizens through proximity and mobility. Our Group will bring its technical, aesthetic, service-oriented and environmental expertise to offer advertisers a powerful communication platform in Italy’s Capital City, including digital displays that will benefit local residents and tourists alike.”