Flexibus service coming to Sillery and Montcalm

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The city’s popular Flexibus on-demand mini-bus service is expanding to serve the Montcalm and Sillery districts.

Service in the new zone, the sixth created since Flexibus launched in 2021, started on Nov. 18, with boarding spaces on Rue Verger, Gignac and Maguire as well as on Ave. Cartier in Montcalm.

To take advantage of the service, users need to book a space online in the seven- passenger buses. The service has no fixed routes as itineraries are adapted to customer demand. Passengers can get on or off at regular stops on Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC) bus routes.

Passes are the same price as for regular RTC buses.

The expansion of the service requires an investment of $700,000, according to city documents. The entire network is budgeted at $21.5 million into 2027.

RTC president Maude Mercier Larouche said, “The rapid adoption of Flexibus by customers clearly demonstrates how the service meets the needs of citizens in terms of local travel.”

According to a city survey, users are making more than 18,700 trips per month with the service, with students making up more than two-thirds of users. The main customer destinations are secondary schools, local businesses, shopping malls, community centres and transit hubs where riders can connect with regular RTC bus routes.

The other zones served are northeast (Wendake, Saint- Émile, Lac-Saint-Charles and Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides), the northwest (Val-Bélair and Loretteville), Beauport (Courville, Montmorency and Sainte- Thérèse-de-Lisieux), Saint- Augustin-de-Desmaures and L’Ancienne-Lorette.

Plans are in the works to next extend the service to Cap-Rouge, Orsainville, Lebourgneuf and a fourth zone to be determined.

Full information on using Flexibus is available on the city’s website.