(Dunham) A pilot project on the roads of the Brome-Missisquoi region is reviving the practice of hitchhiking while providing a framework. Explanations.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Alexandre Legault arrived and left “on the go” for our interview set in front of Brasserie Dunham, in the Eastern Townships. He waited about ten minutes to go, but about ten seconds to return. Proof that its “spontaneous carpooling” pilot project works in the Brome-Missisquoi region.
“It’s organized thumb,” says Alexandre Legault, who lives in Stanbridge East. Without reservation and in complete spontaneity. »
“Carpooling stops” have been set up at strategic and safe locations so that users can be picked up by a passing motorist. Just give a thumbs up.
There are three roads: between Bedford and Dunham, between Sutton and Cowansville, then from Cowansville to Frelighsburg, where people do the wine and microbrewery route (which is not recommended when driving a car) .
Lack of intercity public transport
The initiative was born several years ago, when Alexandre Legault made his first election campaign for Québec solidaire. “I sometimes hitched a ride because I didn’t have a car,” says the winemaker at Domaine L’Espiègle and who is once again a candidate in Brome-Missisquoi in the next provincial election.
Inhabited by environmental concerns, he noticed that there was a great lack of intercity public transport. With Marie-Ève Bélanger-Southey, member of the Vague écologiste team at the municipal level, he wanted to create an alternative to the “solo car”.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
An example of a stop where you can hitchhike, in front of the Brasserie Dunham
What is called the Caravan Project was supposed to be born in the spring of 2020, but the pandemic delayed the installation of the signs and the start of the tests by two years. For now, this is a pilot project.
We started in July and it’s going really well. It’s surprising how much interest this arouses!
Alexandre Legault, co-founder of the Caravan Project
While a $2,000 Propulsion jeunesse grant from the Brome-Missisquoi MRC made it possible to design the website, the Caravan Project remains a citizen initiative fueled by volunteer energy, emphasizes Alexandre Legault.
The website is very well done. Users are invited to “register” their trips and become members. The Caravan Project wants to measure the average time it takes before being boarded at one or other of the stops. You can also ask for a “mobile sign” to hitchhike beyond the official route of the three main roads.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Alexandre Legault, who has a “moving sign” in his hands, only needed to wait 10 seconds before being picked up by a motorist in front of the Brasserie Dunham at the end of our interview.
“The challenge is predictability, says Alexandre Legault. People want to know that they’re going to be on board. A lady who has just moved to Dunham and who does not have a car told me that she relies on the Caravan Project to get around. »
Other municipalities would also like stops of the Caravan Project.
Ideal for rural areas
Alexandre Legault, originally from Granby, studied political philosophy. “The organized thumb really lends itself to the rural environment”, underlines the 27-year-old winemaker.
He points out that 40% of greenhouse gases come from the transportation sector in Quebec. In the context of the rise in the price of gasoline and cars, it is necessary to “maximize” and possibly reduce those in circulation and fill the empty seats.
There is a social impact. Our initiative regenerates the community fabric.
Alexandre Legault
This allows you to meet people from all walks of life. A farmer drove him from Stanbridge East to Dunham before our interview and a man in his thirties who was going to Montreal drove him to Cowansville afterwards.
“Older people say: in my time, we always moved on the go! »
Why do we see less? “Because everyone has a car now. »
However, the car is becoming less and less accessible and many people would like to be able to do without it.
“You need spontaneity, argues Alexandre Legault. That’s what’s game-changing and that’s what the Organized Thumb allows. »
Prohibited in several places
In Quebec, the Highway Safety Code prohibits the practice of hitchhiking on highways, as well as directly on the roadway. “A pedestrian may not stand on the roadway to request transport or to deal with the occupant of a vehicle”, indicates article 448. “A pedestrian may not request transport in places where overtaking is prohibited”, adds article 449.