Published May 7, 2024
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ÉquiMobilité transit pass prices to drop July 1

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Getting around the city will get slightly easier on July 1 for people covered by the Ville de Québec ÉquiMobilité program.

The program, a longtime demand of groups advocating for the rights of low-income people in the city, was launched in spring 2023 and offered a 33 per cent discount on bus tickets and monthly passes for people whose income was below a predetermined poverty threshold. Recent changes to the program, in effect July 1, will bump that discount up to nearly 50 per cent.

As of July 1 and for the next two years, ÉquiMobilité participants will pay a fixed rate of $50 for a monthly pass and $2 for a single-ride ticket (com- pared to full prices of $97.50 and $3.50 respectively). The income eligibility threshold will also rise slightly, to $30,526 for a single person (higher for couples and larger families). People with disabilities who are registered for the STAC adapted transit service are automatically enrolled regardless of income.

Mayor Bruno Marchand, for whom the program was a 2021 campaign promise, said he was proud of the program. “An inclusive community is a community that accepts … to create a social safety net with programs where everyone has possibilities to dream and build the city, to build it with us, and not to be stuck at home because the fact they have low income restricts their mobility,” he told reporters at City Hall on May 2.

Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche, member of the executive committee responsible for public transportation, integrated mobility and major projects, said freezing the fee at $50 for a monthly pass made the program “more predictable” for people on tight budgets.

Accès Transports Viables was among the groups that advocated for social pricing for many years. “Mobility is a fundamental right which conditions the exercise of many other rights,” said the organization’s director general, Marie-Soleil Gagné. “It’s simple: if we don’t have transportation options that meet our needs … chances are we won’t be able to go to school, go to work [or] access essential services – we become confined to our own space. Public transportation is the means of transportation for people who don’t own a car – seniors, people in poverty, single mothers, young people, students. In Quebec City, that’s a lot of people.”

Spending less on transit also gives people in precarious financial situations breathing room to afford healthier food, more weather-appropriate clothes, community activities or home care, disability rights advocate Véronique Vézina explained.

According to the Ville de Québec, more than 8,400 people have bought monthly passes through the program since its inception. City officials estimate that several thousand more residents are eligible for the program but not using it.

If you think you are eligible for ÉquiMobilité, application forms (in French only) are available on the city website. Go to the Limoilou or Sillery borough office (bureau d’arrondissement) with your completed form, your most recent notice of assessment from Revenu Québec or Revenue Canada if you have it, proof of refugee or social assistance status if you have it, and a piece of photo ID. If you’re eligible, the borough office will give you a document to take to the Brunet pharmacy near the Limoilou borough office; the RTC information centre at 820, Ave. Ernest-Gagnon; the Horizon Santé pharmacy in Les Galeries de la Canardière or the Brunet pharmacy at 2700, Boul. Laurier. Pharmacy staff will create your card. Both the application and the card are free.

It’s also possible to apply by mail and have your card mailed to you. Visit ville.quebec.qc.ca/citoyens/deplacements/programme-equimobilite.aspx for details.

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