Faced with hitherto uncrowded mitigation measures near the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, the Legault government is adjusting again. Two exo lines whose attendance was so far starved will be merged to offer more speed. And a first “health shuttle” serving Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont will see the light of day.
“The measures we have put in place have enabled many to adopt public transit, but we want to do more and encourage more citizens to give up their cars. We will continue to work to offer an agile and simplified public transit service. We will not hesitate to make other adjustments if necessary, ”explained Wednesday the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault.
Thus, the exo-520 and exo-521 lines, which only transported barely 50 people each day in both directions with hourly departures, will be “merged” from November 28.
Improved, the exo-520 line will thus offer “a better travel time to the Radisson terminus”, passing through the Beloeil and Sainte-Julie park-and-ride lots every 30 minutes during rush hour. Additional stops have also “been added to the shuttle route according to the needs observed on the ground, in particular in front of 7500, rue Tellier, in Montreal”.
From November 21, a first free “health shuttle” – an idea that had already been mentioned by Minister Guilbault in recent days to better serve hospital employment centers – will be deployed. Line 462 of the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) will leave from the Touraine and Mortagne park-and-ride lots, then go to the Radisson terminus and culminate in the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, which employs more than 5,000 people.
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD) specified that “the deployment of a second health shuttle to reach a greater number of establishments is under discussion with the partners of the network”.
Expanded collective taxi
On the South Shore, the area covered by the RTL’s “on demand” shared taxi service will be expanded as of November 28. In addition to the Harmonie and Boisé districts, the service will now be offered within the incentive parking lots of Sainte-Julie, Touraine and Mortagne.
Moreover, users who used the exo-521 line to get to one of the two incentive parking lots in Boucherville “will be able to use the RTL on-demand service between Sainte-Julie and Boucherville,” said the authorities.
On Sunday, Minister Geneviève Guilbault had already announced that the distribution of free passes distributed at the Radisson metro to users who board or descend from special shuttles will be extended “until December 18, rather than November 27”. At the time, she said she wanted to “create more membership” in public transit.
Notice to interested parties: a few days ago, the river shuttle linking Boucherville and the Promenade-Bellerive park, in the east of Montreal, was also extended until December 11.
Behind the scenes in government, sources have mentioned in recent days that adjustments to mitigation measures should continue to multiply citizens, hoping in particular that the longer the options are available, “the more likely it is that the people join in.”