Environmental groups call for free public transit in Quebec

Four environmental advocacy groups held a protest in Montreal on Friday demanding that public transit in Quebec be made more accessible, that its networks are extended and that it’s free of charge for all citizens.

“We’re asking the Legault government to make it free because we think public transport is a right. We think Quebecers have the right to mobility,” said Victor Saint-Louis, Écologie Populaire.

“We think that it’s the job of us Quebecers through taxes to fund that system. We think it’s a public service and a public service should not be considered as something that can make profit, “said Saint-Louis.

One of the groups involved Écologie populaire says that taking the bus or the metro should be free because it encourages a mode of transportation that is less impactful on the environment than cars, reduces road congestion and offers better access to services.

“We think that it’s the job of us Quebecers through taxes to fund that system. We want to incentivize people to use public transit more than their car,” added Saint-Louis.

Victor Saint-Louis a part of Écologie Populaire (Credit: Gareth Madoc-Jones).

The group also says that public transit between cities should be better connected throughout the province, stating that the number of intercity buses was seven times greater in 1981 than it is today.

“The free public transit is mainly the end goal, and we want to see maybe like social tariffication in place before that so public transport tariffs that apply to poorer people like cheaper for poor people or even free for poor people,” said Saint-Louis.

Écologie populaire adds that not enough is being done to address accessibility.

“Right now, unless you live in like one of the city centers of Montreal, you don’t really have access to public transportation as a quick method of transportation, as a reliable method of transportation to do your daily activities. So there are a lot of projects that were abandoned. We can talk about the pink line. We can talk about the tramway in Gatineau in Longueuil,” said Benjamin Savard, Écologie populaire.

Benjamin Savard a part of Écologie populaire (Credit: Gareth Madoc-Jones).

“Specifically in Montreal, we have a metro system that is not very accessible to people that have reduced mobility, that have vision impairments and all sorts of other accessibility issues,” added Savard.

This protest takes place during a time when the Montreal metro system has faced a number of issues maintaining its current services. Friday morning the Green line had a water infiltration issue and equipment on the tracks causing service interruptions. In October, three Blue-line metro stations had to be closed for several days and one of them St-Michel remains out of service due to structural issues.

“We are here today to support the cause. Let’s face it, underfunding of public transit is a major issue. We can see it in the current infrastructure, we have metro stations that are lacking maintenance, that are lacking a little love,” said Bruno Jeannotte, President of Syndicat Du Transport De Montreal (CSN).

Bruno Jeannotte the President of Syndicat Du Transport De Montreal (CSN) (Credit: Gareth Madoc-Jones).

Écologie Populaire says change should not be delayed any further.

“For decades the government of Quebec has been offsetting all the responsibility to fund public transportation onto local governments and that’s been way too much pressure to put on those. They don’t have the funding to be able to do that, which is why we’re in this situation now where public transportation is just so underfunded,” said Savard.