Dozens of users of the cross-border line between Annecy and Geneva are revolted against the changes in schedules and routes from Sunday. Blaming them for not having been consulted, these users contacted elected officials and hope that the change of route will not take place before March 2022.

Goodbye, Transalis. Hello, Alpbus. Sunday, the T72 bus line becomes line 272. A news that does not delight Jérôme Rattin. For the past few days, he has been stressed and recovered. This architect questions many elements about this line used by hundreds of Hauts-Savoyards who are in Switzerland to work. Caregivers, pilots, students, architects … “We are at bay, we are held hostage”, regrets the user.

Jérôme Rattin lives in Pringy, a town of 4000 inhabitants located in the new town of Annecy. Every weekday morning since 2011, he has gone to Fillière to take the 6:50 am bus. After a passage on the motorway, the bus arrives theoretically at 7:41 am in Genève-Jonction where Jérôme then walks 10 to 15 minutes to start at 8 am in his office.

Except that the traffic is often dense on this axis, and the delays almost permanent. “It takes on average one hour more round trip”, estimates the architect who takes the 6:05 pm bus to return to his home after 7 pm. “With this new line, the stop in Geneva would no longer be served. It would add an additional hour of travel.” Two more hours between traffic and a new route: inconceivable for Mr. Rattin.

Especially since, in the Dauphiné Liberated, once the results of the call for tenders have been made official, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Suisse director of RATP Dev (which owns Alpbus), Pierre Philibert, had said. “There will be some additional lessons and schedule adjustments that the GLCT will communicate at the beginning of December, but this is at the margin”, replied Jean-Pierre Philibert, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Suisse director of RATP Dev.

So Jérôme Rattin is mobilized. Against the new timetables “which no longer corresponds to our expectations and our commitments as users”. VSotter deleted stops. Against the passage through Saint-Julien-en-Genevois. Against the non-consultation of users by RATP Dev. Against the non-communication of the new purchaser.

Since Monday, he has boarded the T72 line bus to inform users, morning and evening, of this new project and its flaws, according to him. E-mails from wealthy users, a petition has emerged. According to him, the drivers are not aware of their new schedules.

Rattin also turned to local elected officials, who apparently took the matter in hand. The mayor of Annecy, François Astorg, Didier Sarda, Mayor of Talloires-Montmin and vice-president of active mobility, tourism and cycling territory of Grand Annecy, were informed, like the department and the Region, at the origin of this call for tenders, that no one really seems to question.

Isabelle Dijeau, municipal councilor for the Annecy Ensemble list, is familiar with this issue. Ten years ago, users, including Jérôme Rattin, mobilized to be more listened to and for the modification of schedules.

She was then part of the municipal majority and dealt with these files. “We fought to have these schedules adjusted”, testifies Mr. Rattin, who contacted Ms. Dijeau. “It is absurd that users of this line are being put to the wall! There was no urgent need to make this change before the holidays”, rebels the chosen one, who did everything “what she could” by contacting elected officials to join for “raise the subject” and “quickly find a solution”.

A mobility committee for the Region is to be held on Thursday evening. This file and will be developed. Advances are expected by users. If nothing moves, she contemplates “a concrete operation”.

Next Monday at 6:50 a.m. at Fillière, Jérôme Rattin will be on bus 272 for a possible blockage. Isablle Dijeau could come and support users. The route of the future ex-line T272 would then be taken “in agreement with the drivers”. And the bus would stop “at current stops”. What if a user was interested in shutting down the new line? “We will find a solution in relation to the Geneva transport network (TPG).”

In the longer term, the objective is to “save until the end of lines T72 with its February schedules and stops, so that in the meantime we users can be heard by the Region, elected officials of Grand Annecy and the TPG, in order to improve this line and not to impose on us a call for tenders and unjustified shutdowns “. Hurry up.