This year I got my driving license. At 24, it’s a little late, but since I live in downtown Quebec, I can count on the Métrobus and my bike to get around at ease. Driving was therefore not a pressing need. If I finally forced myself to finish my driving lessons, it was so I could visit our beautiful Quebec.
During my adolescence and early adult life, I had the chance to travel to Europe a few times. Strangely, I have visited the Old Continent more than our Quebec territory. Actually, it’s not that strange. I don’t think my situation is particularly unique among young Quebecers.
For a young person from the national capital who does not hold a driving license, thanks to the democratization of air travel, it is much easier to go to Paris than to Victoriaville. It seems to me that I was encouraged very early on to travel overseas, notably through various school projects (which were so enriching, I am not trying to criticize them), but little encouraged to discover the regions of Quebec. It may not be in the spirit of the times (unfortunately). It is very easy for a young person who does not know how to drive to go to Europe and get around there when they are there. Discovering Quebec independently without knowing how to drive is difficult to imagine.
To return to my driving license, although I am very happy to now be able to freely travel the roads of Quebec, we must, if we want to live one day in a world more respectful of the environment, aim for this that it is no longer necessary to know how to drive a car to feel this feeling of freedom linked to mobility. Moreover, I look forward to seeing a government have the courage to set targets for reducing the vehicle fleet.
This is also why I unreservedly support the words of Marie-Andrée Chouinard in “The end of “everything to the car””, published on January 4. I would like to add my voice to the editorialist of Duty in order to hammer home his message which, I hope, will be heard by our government.
In the context of climate change, it makes no sense that the number of intercity coach departures has been declining for several years. We learned this fall, thanks to the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information, that the number of weekly private coach departures has increased from 6,000 to 882 per week since 1981. Interurban transport by coach is nevertheless essential if we want to fight against the “all-in-car” that M describesme Chouinard and against the proliferation of road infrastructures which damage the territory.
I admit that my train of thought is tortuous. It is difficult for me to put down on paper all my thoughts about mobility in a structured order as there are so many of them and as I think that the vision of mobility that should come about (in the near future!) is far from the status quo .
To summarize it (if I am able), it is certain that the automobile, particularly in the regions, will continue to occupy an important place in our daily lives in the medium and long term. However, we must have reliable and well-funded alternatives. This would allow us to both be greener and make the area more accessible to young people. If it were easier for young Quebecers to go on an introductory trip to the four corners of Quebec, perhaps we would think about leaving the car at home for our future trips. We could then go on an adventure while being more consistent with our environmental ideals.
And then, even the most car-loving motorists should support increased public funding for intercity bus transport (and public transport more generally). After all, what we want in a car is to have space (as we see in car manufacturers’ advertisements), and not to be stuck in traffic. The solution is not the multiplication of roadways (hello induced traffic!), but better use of them, in particular through public financial support for coach companies.
Although the solutions to put an end to “all-car driving” must shake up comfort and indifference, as M writesme Chouinard, the fact remains that a coach can be very comfortable.