262 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
MANAGING CHANGE: ACTION PLANNING FOR
THE VÉLO V PROJECT IN LYON, FRANCE
T
he city of Lyon is located in the central part of
France, about two hours south of Paris via
TGV. It has a long and rich history as the cap-
ital of Gaul in the Roman Empire, a world-
wide center of silk production, and a
stronghold of the French resistance during
World War II. Today, Lyon is the third largest
city in France, has a thriving high tech and phar-
maceutical industry, and is considered the gas-
tronomical capital of a country known for its
cuisine and wine. Unfortunately, with size and
industry came pollution, overcrowding, and traf-
fic jams. In the mid-1990s, only 18% of its citi-
zens had easy access to public transportation
versus 30% in other towns of equivalent size.
By 2000, Lyon’s city government had con-
structed an above-ground light rail system to
complement the existing underground metro
and bus network in an effort to extend public
transportation to more people. However, the
outdoor station’s stops needed shelters to pro-
tect waiting passengers from the wind, rain, and
snow. In an innovative program, the marketing
and advertising firm, JCDecaux, in cooperation
with Lyon’s development office, created “street
furniture” to house the benches, ticket vend-
ing machines, route maps, and time tables.
JCDecaux constructed and maintained the
sites in exchange for the revenue from adver-
tisements placed on the shelters. The program
was a win–win for both organizations.
The success of the cooperative tram and
bus shelter project, and the city’s continued inter-
est in easing pollution and traffic jams in the
commercial center of the city, led them to seek
out additional change. They asked JCDecaux for
input. JCDecaux had been testing the idea of a
self-service bicycle program in Vienna, Austria
and Córdobo and Gijon, Spain and they proposed
adopting and implementing a “bike exchange”
network in and around Lyon in mid-2002. For
Lyon and its neighboring city of Villeurbanne, it
was a risky and large-scale proposal.
The vision—common now in many
European cities, but completely novel at the
Selected Cases
time—was that commuters and pedestrians
could pick up a bicycle at installations around
the city—near metro stops, businesses, or
large public venues—and use it to shop, go to
work, or simply get from one part of town to the
other more conveniently than a car or the bus,
metro, or light-rail system. The original idea was
that the bike could be used for free for less than
an hour and at very low prices if used for longer
periods. (To get a picture of the system and
its different parts today, go to www.velov
.grandlyon.com.) “It is our intent to turn bicycles
into a mode of daily travel for workers in the
city,” said one government official.
An initial budget of €2 million per year was
estimated to invest in bikes, registration sys-
tems, installations, and support operations
until about 2007. To support the project, the
city also envisioned construction or remodeling
of several parking garages to encourage people
to park their cars on the outskirts of town and
then pick up a bike to finish the commute. Two
parking garages in the downtown area had
already begun offering free bicycles for those
who parked their vehicle there.
The project—named Vélo V—was pre-
sented by the city’s mayor before the second
annual “day without a car” festival. Vélo V
would be managed by JCDecaux. They would
own and maintain the bikes and finance opera-
tions through advertising receipts. The head of
the city’s development function suggested that
it was a bold attempt to “effect a radical change
in the philosophy” of the urban community. At
the time, less than 3% of the people in Lyon
used a bicycle, against 10% in Strasbourg and
other cities. The proposal was supported by Les
Verts, France’s Green political party, but the
president of the local nongovernmental transpor-
tation union was upset that there had been little
dialogue with various concerned organizations.
The goal was to launch a 24 hours/day
operation in May 2005 with 1,200 bicycles
in 120 stations. According to a JCDecaux
regional manager, they expected 2,000 bikes

in 180 stations by October and projected 3,000 bikes
in 2006 and 4,000 bikes in 2007.
Questions
1. Assume you are a project manager at
JCDecaux and have been assigned to work
with the City of Lyon to implement this physi-
cal, organizational, and social change. What
are the practical and philosophical implications
of this work?
SELECTED CASES 263
2. Using the tools, methods, and processes
described in Chapter 8, construct a compre-
hensive “action plan” for this project. Where
would you start? Who are the key stake-
holders and how will you manage them? What
are the practical categories of activities that
need to be addressed? What are the
sequences of change that have to happen?
What do you see as the key activities and
initiatives?