Le bus change

Anyone living in Lyon will have noticed the signs that have been up since the beginning of the summer informing us that on the 29th Aug the bus routes are changing. To be fair, there have been a lot of signs informing us these changes will be happening however very little in the way of information about what the changes will be.

The week before the big change, I noticed a little stall set up by the Croix Rousse metro, all decked out in red and manned by a couple of people wearing fetching 'Le Bus Change' red T-shirts. It was about 8 in the morning and as I was on the way to the gym I didn't stop. Fortunately it was still there on my way back, this time manned by 4 people. I had a little laugh to myself thinking that only in France could they think that 2 people could cope with the rush hour commuters and 4 people with the day time shoppers.
I went over and was asked if they could help. I requested a new map of the bus routes. This was met with some pursing of lips and a suggestion that she could tell me information on specific bus routes (and even recharge my monthly travel card) but she didn't have a map to give me. I pointed that it would be good to have a map that I could refer to when needed and she went off and asked the supervisor, who had a thick timetable of all the bus routes for his own personal use, but no maps. The only suggestion they had was if I wanted one 'urgently' I could go to the nearest travel office in Hotel de Ville. (The travel office in Croix Rousse being helpfully closed during the summer 'Vacances scolaires'.) I pointed out that it seemed a little bit strange that they had a stall offering verbal information but no maps or time tables and, in true French fashion, received a shrug in reply.

I was not really sure what they meant by 'urgent' but as it was only a few days till the big change, the next time I was passing an open travel office I picked up a map and, after studying it, found out that the bus I used the most often (the no 18 for anyone who is interested) as it formed part of my route to work, was having it's route cut and is no longer of any use to me. Hmmm
Since then I have noticed more of these little information stalls outside of metro stations and major bus stops and now they seem to be equipped with a steady supply of maps and relevant bus timetables. Obviously I was not the only one who found their method of information distribution rather odd and there have been changes.

Then the other day I received in my letter box, a new map and 4 free tickets. Fantastic. The only thing is, I got these on the 2nd September, a full 5 days after the new changes came into place..... ?????