The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) promises to make access to the ferries free for all Quebecers since it is an “essential service”.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
“With a Liberal government, ferries will be free in Quebec. We want to be able to get Quebecers to their destination for free. Just because there isn’t a highway doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to get around for free somewhere,” said the leader of the PLQ, Dominique Anglade, in an interview with The Press.
Mme Anglade will officially make this promise on Saturday morning when she is in the Magdalen Islands. It places this electoral commitment within the framework of its Charter of the Regions.
“It should be considered an essential service, it should be considered a road,” she pleaded. This promise would cost a little more than 20 million to the Public Treasury, according to the PLQ. This sum is calculated by adding the revenue from the fares of the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) and the Cooperative de transport maritime et aerial (CTMA), which handles the link between Cap-aux-Meules and Souris.
The Liberal Party’s promise does not concern the network of river shuttles set up by the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain to connect the Old Port of Montreal to Boucherville, Longueuil, Île Sainte-Hélène and the Pointe sector. -at-Trembles. “It is not the objective to reach the river shuttles in Montreal, but rather the places where it is an essential service, where there is no road, where there is an essential need”, explained M.me England.
However, the Québec–Lévis and Sorel–Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola ferries would be free.
Reliability of service, “another step”
Currently, the cost of using ferries varies by route. For short crossings, for example to Quebec or Sorel, the fare is $3.85 for an adult and $9.15 for a vehicle. The bill goes up when the distances are greater. The Matane–Godbout one-way fare is $21.10 for an adult and $72.75 for a passenger vehicle.
CTMA fares reach $56.80 for an adult and $105.90 for a vehicle.
As for the reliability of the Matane–Godbout service and the difficulties of the NM ferry F.-A.-GauthierMme Anglade says the situation is “unacceptable,” but she has no quick fix at hand. “It’s not part of the announcement, it’s another step,” she explained.
It would also be ready to increase the STQ’s offer if the regions of Quebec so request.
This is not the only promise of the Liberal Party of Quebec in the area of regional transportation. The training also proposes to review the mode of financing and the supervision of transport by coach with the companies and the regions to “guarantee a better service, increased frequencies and greater reliability”.