Discover the testimony of Cyrille Horper, Communication office, Mobility Department of Voyages Emile Weber, a passenger transport company located in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

In a few lines, can you present your company, its activities, products and key figures?

Voyages Emile Weber is one of the largest passenger transport companies in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Greater Region.

The company is active in three sectors of activity: travel (with more than 20 travel agencies and a department dedicated to organized trips), mobility (with vehicles ranging from minivans to luxury coaches and scheduled buses), and B2B services addressed to our business customers.

Today, Voyages Emile Weber has more than 1300 employees and, with more than 700 vehicles, one of the most modern fleets in Europe.

Which portion of your activity is dedicated to cross-border projects? Do you have an example of cross-border collaboration that you would like to highlight?

Due to the relatively small size of the Grand Duchy, we cross the country’s borders every day and are active in Germany, for example: we have a depot in Trier and in Wadern in Saarland.

In addition, we serve more than 15 bus routes in the South Eifel (between Trier and Bitburg) with the company Tempus, which we founded in 2019 together with Bollig Voyages.

The automotive industry is undergoing major changes (energy and digital transitions, etc.). In the face of these changes, what are your perspectives for future developments?

Our company has always relied on a fleet of innovative and modern vehicles, that’s why Voyages Emile Weber launched already in 2008 the empoweringMobility program which aims at the electrification of our fleet. We started with hybrid buses. In 2015, the first dual-articulated plug-in-hybrid buses followed, and finally in 2018, we introduced our first 100% electric buses. Today, we have over 110 electric vehicles (including 70 buses) and this number is expected to grow even more with the recent orders we have placed with our manufacturers.

In addition, we are devoting a lot of energy to the development of digital solutions. We have developed our own digital information system for drivers, called RoadbookMobile. We are currently equipping our warehouses with intelligent recharging systems for electric buses, transforming the supply network into a “smart grid” and using innovative means from “smart charging” technologies.

In addition, we are also closely following the evolution of hydrogen technology with projects in which we are a partner.

The automotive industry is an important sector and represents a key market within the Greater Region. What advantage(s) do you find in being located in the heart of this territory?

As an operator, and therefore as a passenger transport company, we participate in all the innovations in the automotive sector. For example, when the first electric buses arrived, we worked closely with the manufacturers to give them feedback so that they could correct one or another element and thus improve the quality and reliability of their vehicles.

Moreover, the small size of our country undoubtedly brings the advantage of a rather fast accessibility: it is very easy in the Grand Duchy to contact one or the other private company or even a public administration; the paths are short. We are also pleased with the many interesting collaborations with Uni.lu and the permanent contact we have with Luxinnovation.

What can a project like PAE bring to companies in the automotive industry? What interest do you see in participating in certain actions of the PAE project?

Participating in projects has always allowed us to discover new actors or new companies. We see these initiatives as great opportunities for networking.

Moreover, we can all proudly show that Luxembourg, as a country located in the heart of Europe, has a very active automotive sector with mobility initiatives that make many people jealous abroad!

Thank you to Mr. Horper for his testimony!