the new communication operation of TCL in Lyon
The “month without my car” was born from a simple observation. The Silk district, straddling Villeurbanne and Vaulx-en-Velin, is extremely well served by public transport. However, in this area of 20,000 inhabitants and 18,000 employees, there is still significant traffic congestion.
To encourage large Lyonnais to gradually separate from their vehicle, SYTRAL and Keolis had the idea of setting up this system for 27 days. This includes a one-month subscription offered on the TCL and Vélo’v network, three months of subscription to the Citiz car-sharing service, a return family pass for the Rhônexpress, a free subscription to “en Covoit ‘”, the Métropole de Lyon carpooling site as well as a TER “family” ticket to a destination of your choice in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
After weeks of prospecting and 400 calls, Lyon public transport managers identified and convinced 17 families able to take part in this experience. They were selected because of their daily use of a car, but also because they were not “anti public transport“.
In this way, one can wonder if this preaching of the convinced does not risk biasing the results of this experiment. The answer is “no” for Keolis who assumes the fact that these families have been identified as being at “a tipping point” between the car and alternative transport.
Because ultimately, this “month without my car” is nothing other than a communication operation aimed at promoting the gradual abandonment of the car, to show the population that it is possible to do without it.
“To experiment is to adopt”
The volunteers will thus play the role of perfect ambassadors for SYTRAL. “I use my car to pick up my children from school, for my medical appointments, to go to school. With this experiment, I want to see if public transport will make my life easier and if it will cost me less.“, explained Nabilla, a participant. For her part, Béatrice Vessiller, vice-president of the Metropolis of Lyon in charge of Urbanism, is already sure that the results are conclusive.”To experiment is to adopt“, She declared in particular.
They and other volunteers will be frequently called upon and questioned during the operation. The organizers are also thinking of “month without my car” in other districts of the Metropolis of Lyon.