Thousands of people are taking part in conference on mobility of all kinds taking place in Montreal this week.

More than 4,000 people are discussing traffic planning, the future of car ownership, and electric vehicles at the Movin' On coference.

It was also the locale for the Ste. Jerome-based producers of the Lion electric bus to debut their product with a splashy entrance that involved smoke machines, dancers, and conductors on unicycles.

The makers are expecting the $250,000 vehicle will get the most use as a vehicle for students, replacing the ubitquitous diesel- and gasoline-powered school buses currently in use.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante would like to have the STM purchase and operate electric buses, but said that so far, the range of all-electric buses is not enough for operation in the city.

The conference is also playing host to multiple discussions about transportation, both of cargo and people, and how that can be improved through urban planning and traffic management.

Meanwhile the CAQ's leader, Francois Legault, said that if elected his government would not be funding a new metro line because he believes people living in the suburbs should be the next people to get more public transit.

Plante said her Pink Line proposal should not be so quickly dismissed.

"It is important to invest massively in public transport and not only is it beneficial to Montrealers it is beneficial for citizens around Montreal that use public transit that could so much benefit from the Pink Line," said Plante.

She said the city of Montreal will continue to study the line that would link downtown Montreal and northeastern parts of the city, no matter which provincial party gains control of the National Assembly in October.

"I will continue to talk about the Pink Line, bring the arguments, bring the financial arguments as well... to show how serious this is," said Plante.

Economic Development Minister Dominique Anglade said that her government would continue to listen to Montrealers and the city's demands.

The Movin' On conference continues this week.