Service traffic
With the acquisition of Samtrans in 2018, Nobina established a strong position in service traffic, an area where Samtrans’ leading position can pave the way for our continued profitable growth, both organically and through new acquisitions. Samtrans in the Stockholm region, Göteborgs Buss in western Sweden and Örslev in Danish Zealand make up our current service traffic operations. The companies provide school transport services, special public transport,
travel to and from daily activities, patient transport and wheelchair accessible transportation. Clients include municipalities, regions, private healthcare providers and schools, and the passengers who use the buses are people with special requirements.
The Nordic market for service traffic is fragmented with a value of approximately SEK 20 billion. Municipalities and county councils are responsible for providing transportation such as school transport services and journeys for people with special needs. Operators are called on to tender for traffic services through multi-year contracts.
“Public transport using special vehicles is often essential if these individuals are to have a functioning daily life and the opportunity to partake in society,” says Tomas Hansson, Managing Director of Samtrans.
Demand in society for these services has risen in the past decade due to the widespread debate about participation and inclusion foreveryone. Samtrans is market leader in the Stockholm region and is the largest service traffic operator in Sweden. In recent years, the company has invested in further raising its own quality, which resulted in several new successful tenders and contract extensions.
“Our strong focus on high quality services and social care is an important factor in our success and for those who travel by bus. We can see rising demand for our qualitative services, both in the Stockholm region and in the rest of Sweden. The acquisition of Göteborgs Buss was an important step in providing our services in western regions. With the acquisition of Samtrans in 2018, we established a strong position in service traffic, an area where Samtrans’ leading position can pave the way for our continued profitable growth, both organically and through new acquisitions."
Samtrans’ well-established contact network throughout Sweden, in combination with its experience in social care and logistics, helped the company rapidly adapt activities during the Covid-19 pandemic, when its normal operations were largely on hold. In close collaboration with private operators and regions, and contracted by the Public Health Agency of Sweden, almost 300 Covid-19 testing stations were set up in Sweden. Moreover, when the spread of the virus was at its height in Stockholm in the spring of 2020, almost 10,000 journeys were conducted to transport Covid-19 patients. This was performed on behalf of Region Stockholm to ease pressure on the regular ambulance service.
The rapid and successful adjustment by Samtrans at a difficult time, together with strong long-term market trends for service traffic, has created favourable conditions for Nobina to continue its growth in the area, both organically and through acquisitions, and encompasses service traffic and healthcare-related travel and other associated areas.
“Our market-leading offering,focusing on quality and service, forms a strong base for these ambitions. We continue to contribute toward an inclusive society and to offer travel distinguished by a high degree of care, security and quality,” concludes Tomas Hansson.