MANAGING CHANGE: ACTION PLANNING FOR THE VELO V PROJECT IN LYON, FRANCE he city of Lyons locatedin the central part of France, about two hours south of Pais va TGV. Ithas a long and rich history as the cap- ital of Gaul in the Roman Empire, @ world wide center of sik production, and a stionghold of the French resistance during World Wer Il. Today, Lyon is the third largest ‘iy in France, has @ thriving high tech and phar- rmaceutical industry, and is considered the gas- ‘vonomical capital of a country known for its ‘cuisine and wine. Unforturately, with size and industry came pollution, overciowding, ard tat- fic jams. In the mid-1990s, only 18% of its cit zens had easy access to public transportation ‘versus 30% in other tovms of equivalent size By 2000, Lyon's cty govemment rad con- structed an above-giound light ral system to ‘complement the existing underground metro ‘ard bus network in an effort to extend puble: ‘vensportation to more people. However, the ‘outdoor station's stops needed shelters to pro- ‘tect waiting passengers from the wind, ain, and ‘snow. In an innovative program, the marketing ‘ard eevertsing fim, JCDeceux, in cooperation with Lyon's development office, created "street fumiture” to house the benches, ticket vend- ing machines, route maps, and time tables. CDecaux constructed and maintained the sites in exchange for the revenue fiom adver ‘isements pleced on the shettes. The program ‘was a win-win for both organizations. ‘The success of the cooperative tram end bus shelter project and the city's contnued inter ‘est in easing pollution and traffic jams in the ‘comnmercal center of the city led them to seek ‘out additonal change. They asted JCDecaux for input. JCDecaux had been testing the idea of @ self-service bicytle program in Vienna, Austra ‘end Cérdobo and Gioa, Spain and they rooosed ‘2copting ard implementing a “bike exchange” network in and around Lyon in mid-2002. For Lyon and its neighboring city of Vileurbanne, it was @ risky and large-scale proposal ‘The vision—common now in many European cities, but completely novel at the time—nas that commuters and pedestians could pick up a bicycle at instalations around the ciy—near metto stops, businesses, or large pubic venues—ard use it 10 shop, go 10 ‘work, or simply get from one part of town to the other more conveniently than a car or the bus, mato, or lightil system. The original idea wes that te Dke could be used for tree for less than an hour and at very low prices if used for longer periods. (To get picture of the system and its different parts today, go to www.velov giandiyon.com.) “Its our intent to turn bicycles ito a mode of dally travel for workers in the city" said one goverment offical ‘An intial budget of €2 milion per year wes estimated 10 invest in Dkes, registration sys- tems, instalations, and support operations unt about 2007. To support the project, the City also envisioned construction oF remodeing of several parking garegas to encourage peonie to park their cars on the outskirts of town and then pick up a bike to finish the commute. Tio peeking garages in the downtown area had alieady begun offering free bicycles for those ‘who parked their vehicle there. ‘The pioject—nemed Vélo Vwas. pre sented by the city’s mayor before the second ‘annual “day wihout @ car” festval Velo V ‘would be managed by JCDecaux. They would ‘own and maintain the bikes and finance opera- tions through advertising recepts. The heed of the Gty’s development function suggested that it was a bold attempt to “effect a redical change in the philosophy” of the urben community. At the time, less than 3% of the people in Lyon used a bicyCe, ageinst 10% in Strasbourg and ‘other cites. The proposel was supported by Les Verts, France's Green poitical party, but the president ofthe ocal nongovernmental tenspor- {ation union was upset that there had been litle dialogue with vious concemed orgarizations. ‘The goal wes to launch a 24 hours/day operation in May 2005 with 1,200 bicycles in 120 stations. According toa JCDecaux regional manager, they expected 2,000 bikes ag o Q or (o) a (e) ey a ) a)in 180 stations by October and projected 3000 bikes in 2006 and 4,000 bikes in 2007. Questions 1. Assume you are a project manager at ICDecaux and have been assigned to work with the City of Lyon to implement this phys cal orcanizational, and social change. What are the practical and philosophical implications of this work? 2. Using the tools, methods, and processes descibed in Center 8, constuct 8 compre- tensive "action pln” for ths project. Where ‘would you start? Who are the key stake- holders and how will ou menage them? What ‘ate 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 initatves?