Quebec's intercity public transit model is 'in tatters': study

An Orleans Express bus is seen Thursday, January 28, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz Ryan Remiorz

In "marked decline" over the past four decades, intercity public transport by coach should be considered a public service, and planned and financed as such, in order to offer a sustainable alternative to the private car, according to a new study made public on Monday.

Since 1981, the number of weekly private coach departures has fallen from 6,090 to 882, IRIS calculated: meaning there are seven times fewer departures than 40 years ago. The last six years have seen this trend accentuated, with the number of departures falling by 33 per cent in this period alone.

"Our study shows that the current model is failing," said Colin Pratte, a researcher at the Institut de recherche et d'informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) and author of the study, in an interview with The Canadian Press.

To make a significant contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs), he believes intercity bus transport must be financed more by public funds and no longer rely on private operators.

BREAKING FREE FROM FOR-PROFIT MODEL

Intercity public transport by coach is a service provided by the private sector, and has failed to make a return on its investment.

"Since profitability is the carriers' ultimate goal, they reduce or abandon loss-making routes, regardless of users' needs," said Pratte.

In particular, the study showed that between 2016 and 2018, "private carriers posted average net deficits of $16 million, which the pandemic has probably subsequently made worse."

Public funding for transportation also proved insufficient to maintain services, the study revealed. According to IRIS, the Transport Ministry’s public transit development assistance program devoted 94 per cent of its funds to urban public transit, and less than 1 per cent to intercity bus transportation.

Over the period from 2019 to 2022, intercity bus transportation received a total of $6.9 million.

As a result, users end up paying a large part of the transportation costs, which explains the relatively high cost of a ticket.

"The self-financing of intercity bus transport through ticket sales leads to loss-making routes, a reduction in private supply and prohibitive prices," IRIS pointed out.

In particular, the study compares the price of a one-way trip over a distance of 500 kilometres. A trip between Montreal and Rivière-du-Loup costs more than twice as much ($104) as a similar trip between Bend and the city of Ontario, both in the U.S. state of Oregon ($48). The same applies to a 180-kilometre one-way trip between Montreal and Trois-Rivières ($47), compared with a trip between Astoria and Portland ($18), both also in Oregon.

"As long as intercity bus transportation is based on a private industry self-financed by ticket sales and whose objective is profitability, services deemed unprofitable will always be cut, reinforcing people's dependence on the automobile," said Pratte.

'A NETWORK IN TATTERS'

Without a change in the management model, a vicious circle impoverishing the service offering is doomed to repeat itself, argued Pratte.

"The less service there is, the more people turn to the car, which then reduces demand and leads to service cuts," said the researcher. So today we find ourselves with a network in tatters."

The Quebec government was made aware of the situation 25 years ago, when it tabled a 200-page study predicting a crisis and accelerating decline in the absence of adequate public policies to support the service.

"Quebec seems to be in a class of its own in North America. Everywhere else, it's the norm to allocate public funds to support intercity transportation services on a recurring basis," said Pratte.

The IRIS study does, however, identify some successful models of transport takeover, notably in the Mauricie region, where municipalities have set up a non-profit intermunicipal service to compensate for the withdrawal of Orléans Express from the area.

"To ensure the existence of an extensive, economical network, the conclusion that emerges from the history of intercity transport and other legislation in North America is that we can't get by without recurrent public funding," said Pratte.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 27, 2023.