This text is part of the special Greater Montreal booklet
The high number of personal vehicles on the roads of Greater Montreal creates heavy traffic congestion and is responsible for 58% of greenhouse gases (GHG) related to land transportation. A reality that generates environmental repercussions, causes economic costs and is not without danger for the health of citizens.
According to the research advisor at the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), Marie-Michèle Cauchy, the development of denser and more complete living environments is inseparable from that of a quality public and active transportation offer, and vice versa. . The efficiency of public transport depends particularly on the number of inhabitants living near bus stops, metro stations and train stations.
“The larger this number, the more attractive the service, since the frequency of passage of buses, metros and trains can be increased, and preferential measures as to respect for timetables [pourront être] implemented, she says. For the population of Greater Montreal to abandon solo driving, we must offer them competitive services in terms of cost, simplicity and travel time. »
Thus, in the suburbs, to increase public transit ridership, various public transit corridors will have to be denser, and the frequency of bus service increased. It will also be necessary to multiply the measures specific to promoting active mobility, such as widening the sidewalks on commercial arteries, the establishment of shared streets, or the creation of new cycle and pedestrian paths. On the Montreal side, the extension of the blue metro line to the borough of Anjou will increase supply. Other structuring projects are also under study.
A better match between supply and needs
While much work remains to be done, it is clear that since 2011, several improvements to the public transit service offer have been made in the greater Montreal area, including the fare overhaul undertaken by the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), the proliferation of intercity bus networks, the establishment of reserved lanes and the commissioning of the SRB Pie-IX in 2023. While these measures have enabled sustained growth in ridership, the pandemic has nevertheless exerted a negative influence on the use of public transport since 2020, the recovery not being uniform across all services and sectors.
Despite this reality, the plan remains ambitious. For the CMM, it is all the more important to optimize the service offer as it must be better suited to the current and future needs of users. For 2050, the CMM complies with the ARTM’s Strategic Development Plan (PSD), which envisages that by this date, the majority of trips will be made in sustainable, collective or active mode. A goal that Mme Cauchy believes that it is attainable “if everyone does their part”, and that new sources of financing are explored.
“One of the challenges of public transit is the establishment of metropolitan taxation (ecofiscality) to support mobility,” says Jean-Philippe Meloche, director of the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture from the University of Montreal. For example, the CMM is evaluating the feasibility of implementing a kilometer pricing system to finance public transit, which seems to me to be entirely relevant if we want to make drivers aware of the importance of opting for ecological decisions. »
Health benefits too
Ecological decisions, but also health, because if an improved offer of public and active transport makes it possible to accelerate the ecological transition by reducing GHG emissions, it also contributes to fairer mobility and has many health benefits. population. Sustainable mobility has a direct impact on heat islands and on polluting emissions, in particular factors that affect the mental and physical health of the population.
The researcher at the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), Éric Robitaille, has, from this point of view, developed a model explaining what influences the choices of citizens in terms of mode of transport. Its results show that the density, the mix of uses and the connectivity of the various networks and the accessibility to public transport infrastructures would in particular encourage the practice of active transport, recognized as the best healthy choice.
It should be noted that in Montreal, the rate of adult cyclists who occasionally or daily use the bicycle as a mode of transportation increased from 25% to 68%, between 2000 and 2020. In Laval, this rate is now 43 %, and 53% in Longueuil, according to a report published by Vélo Québec in 2021.
With Hélène Roulot-Ganzmann
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.