The Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) is preparing to overhaul its service offer in order to take into account the entry into service next year of the first branch of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), as well as new travel habits of South Shore residents since the start of the pandemic.
In October, we learned that the commissioning of the REM towards the South Shore, which was supposed to take place in December, would not finally take place until the spring because of the tests that are still in progress. A delay that the director general of the RTL, Michel Veilleux, wanted to put into perspective on Tuesday. “We are not in such a hurry, we have been waiting for 30 years [un réseau de transport structurant]. We will make sure to make it a success,” he declared during a conference held in the morning in Saint-Lambert at the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the South Shore.
The arrival of the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec’s light rail will replace 29 bus lines that run daily on the Champlain Bridge to connect the South Shore to downtown Montreal. These will be replaced by bus services to the three REM stations on the South Shore, namely the Panama, Du Quartier and Brossard stations.
“We needed a more efficient mode of transportation, we got it,” said Mr. Veilleux, who noted that the bus lines that cross the Champlain Bridge — which are very popular — have reached the limits of their ability to meet the needs of users.
According to RTL forecasts, 1,700 daily bus trips will take place to and from the three REM stations when it is in operation. “People are going to want to access the REM and we’re going to have to be there at the RTL to allow people to get there”, especially since the arrival of this light rail will have the effect of reducing the number of park-and-ride lots on the South Shore, mentioned Mr. Veilleux.
“It’s an opportunity to rethink everything”
The transport company also wishes to take advantage of the arrival of the REM to go further in the overhaul of its network. “It’s an opportunity to reorganize everything, to optimize everything,” said the general manager of the RTL. A process that will result in changes to some 2,300 network stops.
The transport company will therefore revise the routes and timetables of 25 of its bus routes, in particular to facilitate travel within the agglomeration. Mr. Veilleux said Tuesday that more and more residents are moving to the South Shore – and not to Montreal. Residents are also moving more and more outside of peak hours as well as on weekends, listed Mr. Veilleux. “That’s one of the points we had to address. »
With this in mind, the RTL plans to add five new bus lines to its network. A night network will also be created for the first time in the Longueuil agglomeration “to take over from the REM and the metro during the night, during the hours when it does not go to Montreal”, declared Mr. Veilleux. .
“What we want to offer is more flexibility for travel times, improved services for new neighborhoods and more links throughout the agglomeration. People really insisted on asking that, ”summarized Michel Veilleux. Eventually, the latter hopes that 85% of users will have access to a bus line less than 400 meters from their home throughout the Longueuil agglomeration. However, the director general did not specify when the RTL plans to complete the entire reform of its network.
The transport company also aims to have a network fully accessible to people with reduced mobility by 2026.
Taxi on demand
The RTL also intends to improve a pilot project launched in recent years for on-demand taxis. Currently, in Saint-Bruno, it allows residents of the area to use a mobile application to take a taxi for the same cost as public transit to get around within the municipality. In the coming years, the transport company wishes to extend this initiative to Boucherville, Brossard and the borough of Saint-Hubert, in Longueuil, indicated Mr. Veilleux.
As for the financial impacts of these changes to come in the RTL network, these will be largely absorbed by the savings that the transport company will achieve by removing 29 bus lines on the Champlain Bridge, mentioned Mr. Veilleux on the sidelines of this meeting. conference.
However, the financial situation of the RTL, which has more than 1,130 employees, remains precarious. At the start of the year, the organization anticipated a shortfall of $3.5 million in its 2022 budget, which amounts to $203 million. This budgetary hole has since been filled, assured Mr. Veilleux on Tuesday. “On the other hand, we are negotiating for 2023 and we hope to develop services that meet our expectations”, without having to make difficult financial decisions, added the director general of the RTL.