Although the Metropolis of Lyon came into being on 1 January, the local joint transport association has given itself until September to complete the reorganisation process.
The desire to strip away some of the layers of French bureaucracy was a driving principle behind the creation of the Metropolis of Lyon, with the new entity hoping to render public policymaking more efficient and harmonious. In existence since 1 January, the Metropolis resulted from the fusion of Lyon’s Urban Community with the Département of the Rhône, its 1.3 million inhabitants spread across the 59 communes that made up the now defunct Greater Lyon. The fusion and new name were made possible by the Maptam Law* of 27 January 2014, and the new body is now able to manage all metropolitan affairs within its territory: namely, “the conditions of its economic, social and environmental development, by means of infrastructure, networks and structural facilities”, according to Article L3611-2 of France’s local government regulations. Public transport thus falls squarely within the remit of the new administration – and the organisation charged with developing measures that favour sustainable mobility in the Metropolis is Sytral. The local joint association, Sytral will now have a freer hand to manage projects without having to negotiate the myriad authorities so common elsewhere in France. It will also be able to address existing problems, such as the sharing of public space (an issue Bus & Car will explore in its next edition) and, in theory, will be able to work on bolstering interconnectability between modes. Nevertheless, these changes will not happen overnight. The fusion of local transport services took place at the start of the year, but Sytral is not expected to complete the process of transformation – or introduce new measures via its operator, Keolis – until September.
* The Maptam Law: the law on the modernisation of territorial public action and the strengthening of metropolitan cities. Adopted on 27 January 2014, its purpose was above all to initiate a clarification of responsibilities at local level, and it was the text of this law which outlined the status of the Metropolis of Lyon.