The octogenarians of Quebec remember the time when, before 1949, we took the tramway to get around, which we had done since 1897. In addition to the fact that we could also go this way to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, a network of 11 routes provided access to all of its lower and upper town districts.
What signed the death warrant for this first electrified public transport was the offer of buses at very low prices, notably by GM: a good deal which quickly turned into a bad deal due to the increase rapid and substantial reduction in the cost of their acquisition, to which was added the equally high cost of their maintenance.
During the period of electrified transport, the population of Quebec City increased from approximately 60,000 to 150,000 inhabitants, while it currently stands at around 550,000 people, necessarily taking into account its metropolitan environment. Claiming that its configuration is not suitable for a tram service is fallacious or results from reasoning based on incomplete information.
If we are led to believe that opposition to Quebec’s necessary long-range project would be linked to the fact that our urban buses are built in Quebec, or to fear any boomerang effect from the blow to GM which scrapped the tramway more than 70 years ago, should the appeal to the Caisse de dépôt et placement reassure us as to the objectivity of its analyses, even if its conception of an electrified public transport service is frankly questionable?
To watch on video