The interurban transportation financing model “no longer works,” notes the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ), which is calling for a review from the Legault government. The latter, however, retorts that the future of the industry lies in cities and MRCs.
“The current funding model no longer works; We are at the crossroads. The government of Quebec, in collaboration with the municipal sector and interregional transport stakeholders, must review the Quebec business model,” explains The Press the mayor of Gaspé and ex officio president of the UMQ, Daniel Côté.
According to him, “it is imperative that our regions have a quality interregional service offering a sufficient number of coach connections”. “An efficient network is essential to stimulate economic vitality and open up the regions,” notes Mr. Côté.
He was thus reacting to the publication of a report from the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information (IRIS), according to which the number of weekly private coach departures “has increased from 6,000 to 882 per week since 1981”, which which 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%,” IRIS also argues in its study, which attacks the “disengagement” of the Quebec state.
In the office of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, we say we are in evaluation. “We are continuing discussions with the municipal sector and transporters. This reflection must be linked to that on the role of the MRCs in the regional transport offer”, affirms the director of communications, Maxime Roy, also insisting that interurban mobility “is essential for the development of our regions”.
Mme Guilbault nevertheless maintains “that the habits of Quebecers have changed in recent decades.” “Travel by train, by plane and by carpooling, for example Amigo Express, are added to the classic coach transport offer,” she argues through her office.
Towards recommendations
As early as 2021, a research mandate was given by the Legault government on interurban transport to the Polytechnique Mobility Research Chair, directed by Professor Catherine Morency. After a forced break during the pandemic, the group will carry out this spring a first national survey on interurban travel, which will allow the government “to better adapt [ses] actions for the future.
Joined on this subject, Mme Morency affirms that its objective is to make recommendations to the government “on the corridors to favor, the type of service and governance, and perhaps also financing”. “We also want to invite the government to carry out annual surveys across Quebec,” says the expert, who will submit her formal conclusions at the end of 2024.
According to her, the real problem “is that Quebec has done too much segmentation in public transportation.” “We have urban, peri-urban, rural. This means that between a Montreal-Sherbrooke route versus Longueuil-Saint-Jérôme, even if we are talking about the same distances, one route will be financed because it is considered peri-urban and the other not, since it is rural. , said Mme Morency.
“Reducing the automobile fleet by 50% also means that we allow people to travel in several ways. And you have to organize it. Without a real public transportation network in Quebec, it won’t work. And if we just maintain it, we will sink, since the population is increasing,” she adds.
For the moment, “we do not yet have a good understanding of post-COVID demand”, nuance Mme Morency. “We are talking about trips that are made by a small percentage of the population and less regular trips. But we are in the process of designing what people would do if we offered them other types of service. That’s the key. »
What they said
The CAQ’s inaction on this issue is symptomatic of its total disinterest in public transportation. Interregional transport must be considered an essential service.
André A. Morin, transport critic of the Liberal Party of Quebec
Geneviève Guilbault can put out any table, but it doesn’t change anything about the CAQ’s poor record in public transportation. In 2023, it is unacceptable that people in the regions cannot get around other than by car.
Etienne Grandmont, critic of Québec solidaire en transport
Quebec must be given a true national interregional transport policy guaranteeing the mobility of citizens throughout the territory, by bus, plane or boat.
Joël Arseneau, critic of the Parti Québécois in transport