The drop in service in intercity transportation is very real. No less than 85% of departures have disappeared over the past 40 years, underlines a new study published this Monday. The authors are concerned about the “disengagement” of the Quebec state in this industry which is still struggling to recover from the pandemic.
According to a report from the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information (IRIS), which is based on several reports drawn up over time in the industry, the number of weekly private coach departures “has increased from 6,000 to 882 per week since 1981”, which very precisely represents an 85.3% drop in departures in 42 years.
“In the last six years alone, the number of departures from this industry has decreased by 33%,” writes the Research Institute in its study.
Several factors can explain this sharp downward trend, according to IRIS researcher and author of the study, Colin Pratte. “First, the government has never decided to truly financially support this service as it did for urban public transport, where it is understood that it is a public service that does not have to be profitable “, he explains.
Without public support, companies acted like any sensible private company, by cutting loss-making routes, therefore places where there is a less dense demographic pool. Some have even had to cut departure frequencies in busier corridors.
Colin Pratte, author of the IRIS study
This phenomenon is still observed today, believes the researcher. In 2022, the Ministry of Transport’s public transport development aid program “allocated less than 1% of its total envelope of 275 million to interurban transport by coach”, while 94% of this sum went to urban transport. It is this “imbalance” which is largely responsible for the situation, according to him.
Other models exist
Last October, The Press reported that the intercity transportation sector is still struggling to recover from the pandemic, due to the lack of government support.
The president of the Association of Rural Collective Transport of Quebec (ATCRQ), André Lavoie, then argued that the solution could be to create an authority “which would have the task of organizing interurban transport and awarding contracts to private companies to operate these lines.
“There would be some kind of entity that would weave the spider’s web to manage intercity transportation. That way, at least, there would be planning more oriented towards the common good,” he reasoned.
Colin Pratte supports this position: according to him, it is urgent to consider other models and to draw inspiration from what is being done elsewhere, particularly in the United States. “In Oregon and several other American states, they have recurring public funding for the operations of their intercity coaches. And that goes specifically for journeys that are not profitable,” he says.
According to him, Quebec “stands alone” and abandons local journeys which do not cost astronomical sums. “I’m thinking of the Saint-Georges–Québec line which disappeared last March. His [frais d’exploitation] were approximately $500,000. That’s not much of the government’s total budget. We could have done something to save this route,” says Mr. Pratte.
Towards a disappearance within 15 years?
For transportation planning expert at the University of Montreal Pierre Barrieau, it is also very clear that the interurban transportation system has been “neglected” for several decades in Quebec.
“We have been in a cycle of decline for 40 years. This is due to the lack of support from the State, of course, but also to the electronic carpooling platforms which have eaten away a good part of the market or to players like Communauto,” recalls Mr. Barrieau.
It also remains a question of price and the intercity coach market is often more expensive.
Pierre Barrieau, transport planning expert
According to him, if the trend continues – and especially if Quebec does not take out the checkbook – “we must expect a probably complete disappearance of the network within 10 to 15 years”.
In fact, the only thing that could save the industry, believes Pierre Barrieau, “would be partial or total State support”. “I always believed that VIA Rail should play this role, if we decided to go in this direction, but we are not there yet,” concludes the specialist.