In a letter dated February 6, 2023, the Mayor of Limoges expressed his many doubts about the High Level Service Bus (BHNS) project being implemented by the Municipality of Limoges. This controversial issue must be voted on on March 2nd

The High Level Service Bus (BHNS) was introduced in 2016. Gérard Vandenbroucke, then President (PS) of the Municipality of Limoges, went to Montreal (Canada) and decided to import the concept.

Guillaume Guérin, current President (LR) of the urban community, inherited a project estimated at between 180 and 250 million euros.

Two bus routes will cross Limoges from north to south and then from east to west. The aim is to be faster and cleaner in urban areas. According to the Limoges Métropole website “The total route will be 22.5 km. It will be a fast and regular connection between the main centers of activity and employment, the train station and the city center of Limoges”.

A resignation and a letter

In early February 2023, Gilles Bégou, Limoges Métropole Vice-President in charge of transport, announced that he no longer wished to manage the BNHS file due to “constant flashbacks from the Mayor of Limoges”.
In a letter he gave to Guillaume Guérin, he added that the behavior was caused by Emile Roger Lombertie a lot of stress and psychosocial risks among the agents of Limoges Métropole.

It is designed to respond to comments that it is considering “defamatory and slanderous” which Emile Roger Lombertie himself wrote to Guillaume Guérin.

A worrying state of affairs

In this letter that we have received, the Mayor of Limoges expresses his doubts about the BHLS project.

To want to increase the commercial speed by 1 km/h for more than 250 million euros and to think that we will double the number of passengers today is more than unlikely given all French public transport.

Emile Roger Lombertie, Mayor (LR) of Limoges

Letter dated February 6, 2023 to Guillaume Guérin.

The first city councilor of Limoges also noticed this “The Place d’Aine was defined from the start as the meeting point for the two BNHS lines”.

However, recent studies have shown this The concrete slab of this square, which has an underground car park underneath, is not strong enough to support such a weight.

The agglomeration services have recognized this The Pont Neuf would not be wide enough for two buses to pass each other. They have therefore unilaterally decided to convert the Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny into a one-way street. Emile Roger Lombertie is officially against it. For him he is impossible to block one direction of traffic on one of his city’s main thoroughfares.

Finally, other issues such as the creation of walkways for people with disabilities or the planned felling of 260 trees are highlighted in this letter.

Be aware that despite seven years of deliberation and technical study, we are behind and risk not being on time to submit work permit files to use 16 million grants.

Emile Roger Lombertie, Mayor (LR) of Limoges

Letter dated February 6, 2023 to Guillaume Guérin.

Reached by phone, Guillaume Guérin, President (LR) of the Municipality of Limoges, admits this “The preliminary feasibility studies were carried out by the inter-municipal authority, which has limited resources. Others are to come with specialized companies”.

However, he assures that the convention of the delegation of project management from the city of Limoges to the agglomeration “is easily matchedon March 2 during the plenary session.

According to him, despite the doubts expressed by the mayor, the city of Limoges will give the agglomeration carte blanche to build the BHLS.

It is normal for a topic of this magnitude to raise questions. Emile Roger Lombertie was in my office yesterday. We’ve talked about it for a long time. There is no war between us.

Guillaume Guérin, President (LR) of the Metropolis of Limoges

We have attempted to contact Emile Roger Lombertie to ask him to confirm these comments. He did not respond to our inquiries. But he told us that “Without a concrete response to address the issues raised in the letter, the issue of voting will remain secondary as we only vote for a project when it is mature.”

What will elected officials do?

For Gaston Chassain, Mayor (PS) of Feytiat“The BHLS is an important project that must advance the communities bordering the agglomeration. However, this requires the unanimity of the elected officials”.

Thierry Miguel, leader of the opposition (PS) at Limoges City Hall and municipal adviser, explains that we “cannot afford to go back and refund amounts already awarded to us. This would harm the municipal budget. But I note that within the agglomeration there is a problem of direction and a discrepancy between the will of the mayor and that of Guillaume Guérin. We need to rethink governance.”

The next plenary session in Limoges Métropole promises to be lively.