transit

FEQ declares success despite challenges of transit strike

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FESTIVAL D’ÉTÉ DE QUÉBEC

FEQ declares success despite challenges of transit strike

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

As heavy weather threatened the final day of the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) on July 11, organizers were declaring the 57th edition a “resounding success,” despite facing the first transit strike in the event’s history, and yes, unpredictable weather.

A sometimes emotional Louis Bellavance, head of content and artistic direction for BLEUFEU, the non-profit organization that runs the 11-day event, declared this year’s gathering a triumph for fans “who know what they want” and who “come for the music,” not just to take pictures. At the traditional wrap-up news conference, which began with a video montage of Shania Twain’s performance the night before, Bellavance said, “This year we conquered the entertainment industry.” He said FEQ organizers heard from “dozens and dozens” of artists and their teams who said the Quebec City event “is the best festival in the world.”

He said what happened this year was “a recognition without precedent” for the calibre of events FEQ organizes, which creates a special connection between the performing artists and the fans.

The success he described was despite the considerable obstacle of a strike by Réseau de transport de la capitale (RTC) maintenance staff, which paralyzed city bus service for the duration of the festival, and an unrelated strike which halted service on the Quebec City-Lévis ferry.

BLEUFEU president Nicolas Racine, now with his third festival as boss under his belt, said the threat of an RTC bus drivers’ strike two years earlier helped prepare organizers for the real deal this year.

“We put some measures in place to make sure that people would have less trouble coming in. So we just took that again, and maybe pumped it up a little bit.”

He said he was amazed at how the fans adapted to the transit challenges.

“The fans are great. They came earlier, they shared a car, they used their bike. They walked and parked further and they walked half an hour to come in. So why not – instead of staying in your car for half an hour, why don’t we walk? So that’s what happened. So the impact for us was less than expected.”

One silver lining of the transit strike, Bellavance noted, was that because more fans arrived earlier, there were bigger and more appreciative audiences for the “undercard” acts.

Now with 15 years as head programmer for FEQ under his belt, Bellavance listed some of his personal favourites among the more than 200 shows to take the stage, among them Richard Marx, Marjo, Alessia Cara, Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan and Wyclef Jean.

He had special praise for the artists who made themselves available on short notice due to sudden cancellations.

He singled out Slayer for a notable FEQ record: most T-shirts sold, more than previous top sellers, the Rolling Stones and Metallica.

Above all, Bellavance said, the most satisfying bookings for FEQ this year were Twain, whom the festival had pursued for years, and Benson Boone, the 23-year- old American pop sensation who organizers correctly bet could pack the massive Plains stage.

Racine said organizers are already planning for the 2026 edition, and the success of FEQ 2025 “is a motivation for us. We want to do better. We know we can do better. Our main goal is to make the fans happy.”

There was one sour note among the general good vibes of the festival, with the news that some performers are suing FEQ through SOCAN, Canada’s artists’ rights and revenues agency, for unpaid royalties for “carte blanche” shows for the previous three festivals.

FEQ responded to the public release of details of the federal court suit with a statement on July 12. “The FEQ deplores the timing chosen by SOCAN – in the middle of the festival – to initiate legal proceedings. Discussions between the two parties had been ongoing until very recently.”

FEQ declares success despite challenges of transit strike Read More »

RTC bus service resumes amid unanswered questions

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RTC bus service resumes amid unanswered questions

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

On July 13, the Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) announced that city bus service would gradually resume the following morning, and fully return to normal by noon, putting an end to a 10-day strike by the bus mainte- nance workers’ union, timed to coincide with the Festival d’été de Québec.

A labour tribunal ruling in a separate dispute involving the RTC and its drivers’ union in 2023 found that the RTC was not an essential service. As a result, RTC service was completely halted for the duration of the strike, and people without easy access to a car had to rely on long walks, expensive backup plans, creative car-sharing arrangements, or àVélo bikes – assuming there were some available – to reach their destinations.

“We are relieved that the strike is coming to an end and that our customers will be able to resume services as of Monday [July 14], particularly those who rely on public transit and who were greatly impacted by the complete service disruption. We are also pleased that the drivers will be able to return to work,” said Maude Mercier Larouche, president of the RTC, in a statement.

An indefinite transit strike is not off the table. The collective agreement between the RTC and the maintenance workers’ union, the CSN-affiliated Syndicat des Salariés (ées) d’entretien du RTC, expired in September 2024, and no new collective agreement or agreement in principle has been signed as of this writing. The union held a two-day strike in late May, and in June, 100 per cent of members voted for a strike mandate “potentially including an unlimited general strike.” At the time, union president Nicolas Louazel accused RTC representatives of failing to lay out their demands clearly, “wasting time” and “being unable to respond to simple questions.”

Mercier Larouche said negotiations were ongoing between the city-funded RTC and the union. “We are making every effort to reach a lasting agreement that is viable for both parties and respects citizens’ ability to pay,” she said.

“As an organization that defends the rights of low-income people, we support union efforts to achieve better working conditions,” said Émilie Frémont-Cloutier, community facilitator and spokesperson for the Collectif TRAAQ, which advocates for low- income transit users. “However, we cannot ignore the negative social impacts that a complete shutdown of public transit will have on the most vulnerable populations. Thousands of people, primarily women, seniors, people with dis- abilities and those living in isolation, will be cut off from all means of transportation. This means they will be unable to get to the grocery store, the pharmacy, medical appointments or even community outreach centres. During the first strike on May 22 and 23, a Radio- Canada report highlighted these concrete impacts: reduced use of the La Bouchée Généreuse food assistance program, and families forced to pay for expensive alternative transportation to get to school or work.”

Mercier Larouche said bus pass holders would be reimbursed for the impact of the strike, but that a reimbursement system would only be set up once the RTC and the union reach an agreement in principle.

No one from the maintenance workers’ union or the CSN had responded to requests for comment from the QCT by press time.

Editors’ note: Transit users, how did you work around the strike? If you’d like to share your strike story with us, please email editor@qctonline.com.

RTC bus service resumes amid unanswered questions Read More »

Bus strike? They took a bike! FEQ fans find ways to attend shows

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Bus strike? They took a bike! FEQ fans find ways to attend shows

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

There were nightmarish traffic jams, armies of pedestrians on long marches and thousands upon thousands riding bicycles. Others took taxis or ride-shared. Whichever way they used to get there, fans found a way to show up in the usual vast numbers to take in Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) events.

A strike by Réseau du Trans- port de la Capitale (RTC) mechanics and maintenance workers marked the first time ever the festival got underway without public bus service. Last year, for example, RTC buses, including special shuttle buses for the festival, transported some 300,000 people to the event zones.

The maintenance union, with 363 members, has been without a contract since September, and in May had staged a two-day strike as a negotiating tactic. Reports said the union was seeking a 30 per cent pay increase over five years, but other sources say the demand is between 18 and 22 per cent over five years.

Other work issues are also on the table, according to the union. Talks were set to resume on July 8. Members had voted massively in favour of a 10-day strike during FEQ and threatened an unlimited strike if no progress was made.

In the meantime, some 3,000 city bus drivers plus support staff are off the job.

The city’s popular àVélo service, managed by the RTC, was not affected by the strike. Two years ago, the bus drivers’ union threatened a strike on the eve of FEQ, but a last- minute agreement avoided a transit shutdown.

Not only is a bus strike complicating the lives of commuters, but another strike has shut down the ferry service between Quebec and Levis during FEQ for the second year in a row.

The 13-day strike by some 200 unlicensed workers also affects government-operated ferries serving Matane, Baie-Comeau and Godbout.

As for the bus strike, city officials say they cannot give in to union demands; Mayor Bruno Marchand said he is happy to be called a “dictator” by the union if it means dealing with taxpayer dollars responsibly.

While the city took some steps to alleviate the strike impact, such as expanding temporary bike lanes and drop-off zones, mayoral candidate Sam Hamad said the Marchand administration failed to be prepared.

In a statement, the head of Leadership Québec said, “It’s surprising that Quebec City didn’t see fit to have a real Plan B, even though it knew that a service interruption to the RTC was possible dur- ing the festival. In a context where the FEQ’s brand image and that of Quebec City as a tourist destination are at stake, this lack of preparation sends the wrong message.”

Hamad said if his party were in power it would have brought in such measures as working with FEQ to set up shuttle services, called upon businesses to make parking lots available and made parking free for carpoolers.

FEQ officials said they rejected the idea of having bus shuttles on standby, as they did in 2023, in the event of a strike, since the cost was prohibitive. A private bus company, meanwhile, has stepped into the void, offering rides for return trips from selected sites for $20 on buses used during the day for transporting day camp counsellors.

Bus strike? They took a bike! FEQ fans find ways to attend shows Read More »

More bikes, longer season for àVélo program

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More bikes, longer season for àVélo program 

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The racks are being installed in some 165 locations around the city for a May 1 start for the fifth season of the popular àVélo bike-rental program.

The Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC), which manages the àVélo program, announced several changes at a recent news conference at the Charlesbourg campus of Cégep Limoilou, where bike stations will be added this year.

Besides the stations at the college, about 50 stations will be added in five zones in the city – Le Plateau, Saint- Rodrigue, des Jesuites, du Vieux-Moulin and des Châtels. With the 500 additional bikes for these stations, the total fleet will number 1,800.

The àVélo season will be extended by two weeks this year, with 60 stations near bike paths remaining open until Nov. 15.

Passes and rates remain the same this year, with the addition of a 24-hour pass to allow users to make several trips during the day.

Subscriptions go on sale as of April 30. The first 100 customers to sign up get a free helmet.

For further information on the àVélo program, visit aveloquebec.ca.

More bikes, longer season for àVélo program Read More »

RTC unveils new routes, new app, more àVélo stations

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RTC unveils new routes, new app, more àVélo stations

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC), buoyed by a boost in ridership and a new source of revenue, is adding two new routes and implementing an application to integrate mobility services. It’s also moving ahead with an expansion of the popular àVélo bike-sharing network.

At a Feb. 5 news conference at a library in Val-Belair, RTC and city officials confirmed that several elements of the 2025-28 development plan unveiled in the fall will be put into effect as of this spring. The choice of Val-Belair is significant in that as of late August the 804 bus route will be extended into the sector.

According to RTC president and executive committee member Maude Mercier Larouche, the new $60 municipal tax on vehicle registrations, implemented at the beginning of the year, “allows us to maintain, but above all to efficiently develop our service offering.”

The registration fee affects some 300,000 vehicle owners and is expected to add nearly $20 million to city coffers.

In a news release, Mercier Larouche said, “With the improvements planned for the coming year, the RTC is realizing its vision for the future, which is to offer simpler, more direct and more efficient journeys by multiplying travel options.”

One travel option the city is promoting heavily is the àVélo bike-sharing service, which is managed by the RTC. As of May 1, 50 new stations, with 500 bikes will be added to the net- work in the sectors of Vanier, Saint-Louis, Saint-Rodrigue/ Jesuites and Maizerets. This marks the largest expansion of the service, now boasting 115 stations and 1,300 bikes, since it was launched in 2021.

Other new RTC services coming this year are the addition of Flexibus service in Cap-Rouge and the expansion of eXpress bus routes in the suburbs.

Also announced recently, is the awarding of a contract to develop a mobile application to integrate transportation services in the capital region.

According to a Jan. 31 release from the city, the new app, to be tested in the fall, will “bring together bus services offered in the CMQuébec territory (RTC, Société de transport de Lévis, Transport collectif de La Jacques-Cartier, PLUmobile), the tramway, adapted transport [used by people with disabilities], the Flexibus on-demand transport service and the àVélo electric bike-sharing service, as well as services from other partners such as car sharing, ferries (Société des traversiers du Québec), taxis, private and public parking lots and electric vehicle charging stations.”

The city said the app will be “the very first regional mobility platform developed for a public transit company in Canada.”

The city awarded the contract, with an overall estimated cost of $14.28 million, to Siemens Mobility Canada, a division of the German transportation technology giant.

Implementation of the app will be handled by Capitale Mobilité, the RTC’s division that manages ventures separate from bus system operations.

The RTC recorded a significant boost in ridership in 2024, as reported in data released on Jan. 24. Bus users took more than 31.5 million trips last year, a jump of 11.6 per cent.

Students accounted for the biggest increase, at 12 per cent, while there was a three per cent decrease in senior ridership. General customer use rose two per cent.

The increase in ridership added some $8 million to RTC revenue from passengers, for a total of $76.4 million.

RTC unveils new routes, new app, more àVélo stations Read More »

Flexibus service coming to Sillery and Montcalm

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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.

Flexibus service coming to Sillery and Montcalm Read More »

Opposition attacks CAQ for more tramway delays

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TRAM TRACKER

Opposition attacks CAQ for more tramway delays

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Four months after the Coalition Avenir Québec government announced its approval of the first phase of Quebec City’s tramway project, a deal is yet to be signed to restart construction.

The prolonged delay has the Quebec Liberal Party transport critic and MNA for Nelligan Monsef Derraji wondering whether the CAQ government is stalling in the hopes a Conservative federal government under Pierre Poilievre will kill the project if it comes to power in the coming months.

Derraji and other opposition members grilled Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault for two hours in the National Assembly on Sept. 27 on the tramway project.

In an interview with the QCT, Derraji said the problem for the CAQ government is “they have no money.” He said the government has been cutting programs and now Guilbault “said she’s waiting for money to come in from the federal government” for the tramway project.

He said Premier François Legault had called on the Bloc Québécois to support a Conservative non-confidence motion to defeat Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. The premier “wants as soon as possible an election on the federal level.”

Poilievre has said on several occasions “he would give nothing to the tramway project,” Derraji said. The way he sees it, Legault and Guilbault “are waiting for a federal election, and after that they will say we don’t have the money for this project.”

Derraji said Guilbault had promised in June to give a mandate to the Caisse de dépôt et placement infrastructure division (CDPQ Infra) to restart work on the first phase of the $5.1-billion project.

“Why is she waiting? Next year we’ll have Pierre Poilievre.” Derraji noted that while Poilievre opposes the tramway, he has said a Conservative federal government would help finance the CAQ’s plan for a “third link” bridge across the St. Lawrence River.

Besides Derraji, opposition MNAs Étienne Grandmont of Québec Solidaire — whose riding would be home to several tramway stations if the project goes ahead — and Joël Arseneau of the Parti Québécois questioned Guilbault.

For her part, Guilbault said sending a mandate letter to CDPQ Infra is not a simple matter. “They [the opposition] just talk about the letter, but I don’t know if they understand how it works, the preparation and design of a major project. There are several things happening at the same time.”

She said meetings have been taking place between government officials and CDPQ Infra since June, when the agency submitted a report the CAQ government had requested that recommended a sweep- ing urban transit project for Quebec City and Lévis, to be called Circuit intégré de transport express or Cité.

Guilbauilt said the project transition committee last met on Sept. 24. “It’s important for people to know that the project is moving forward,” the minister told the opposition members at the National Assembly session.

As for federal funding, Guilbault said there are “certain people in the current fed- eral Liberal government who claimed in the newspapers that they were on target. That’s their usual claim: ‘We’re on target.’ But what does that mean in real life? For me, a target is money … I negotiate with them, I make my requests and I wait for the cheque, and the cheque doesn’t arrive.”

Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister of public services and procurement and MP for Québec, denied Guilbault’s claim (see separate story).  

Opposition attacks CAQ for more tramway delays Read More »

Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’

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Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Federal minister and Liberal Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos has sharply refuted Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault’s claim Ottawa has yet to “send a cheque” to help finance Quebec City’s tramway project.

Duclos responded to Guilbault’s comments at a media scrum on Oct. 4 following a Quebec City announcement about loans for small busi- nesses. The minister had taken the swipe at the federal govern- ment a week earlier in front of a National Assembly session focused on the tramway project. “I wait for the cheque and the cheque doesn’t arrive,” Guilbault said, in the context of answering questions from opposition MNAs about the CAQ government’s delay in mandating the resumption of construction of the first phase of the tramway project, as promised in June.

Duclos told reporters the federal government has put “$1.5 billion and more in a bank account for the Quebec [City] region for the tramway.”

As for Guilbault’s comments, “I say this with respect, but sometimes I need to say things more clearly … I explained to her again last week what she should have understood a long time ago. I told her several times. I don’t know why it’s not getting through.”

Duclos, who recently took over as Liberal lieutenant for Quebec in the wake of Pablo Rodriguez’s decision to seek the Quebec Liberal Party leadership, said, “To claim that there is no money from the Canadian government is false, and I think everyone should admit that, including Ms. Guilbault. We have to stop diverting attention and going back over old issues that have been clarified for a long time.”

Duclos said when Guilbault sends the bill for the tramway, “we’ll send her a cheque.”

As for the threat of a future Conservative government under Pierre Poilievre, who has said he would not fund the tramway project, Duclos said the Conservative leader “wants to steal money from the tramway bank account of people in the Quebec City region. We can’t imagine that he would want to do that, but knowing Pierre Poilievre, it’s pure Pierre Poilievre.”

Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’ Read More »

City bike lane network keeps growing

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

City bike lane network keeps growing

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Quebec City cyclists now have an additional 12.7 kilometres of bike paths to enjoy. The Ville de Québec has added six new sections to its VivaCité* bike path network this summer – the Pente-Douce corridor (from Rue Marie-de-l’Incarnation to Chemin Ste-Foy) and the Ma- rie-de-l’Incarnation corridor (from Rue Guyart to Côte de la Pente-Douce) in Montcalm, the 3e Avenue Ouest/52e Rue corridor (76e Ave Ouest to 4e Ave Est) in Limoilou, the Du Pont corridor in Saint-Roch (from Rue du Prince-Édouard to Rue Saint-Vallier Est), the Quai Saint-André corridor in Petit-Champlain (Rue Saint- Pierre to Rue Dalhousie) and the Neilson corridor in Sainte-Foy (Rue de Marly to Rue André-Giroux).

Two existing bike lanes have also been spruced up with improved lane marking, additional protective barriers and traffic lights adapted for cyclists; they are the Boul. Laurier corridor near the Université Laval campus (Rue des Gouverneurs to Rue Marguerite-Bourgeoys) and the Chemin Sainte-Foy corridor in Montcalm (from Ave. de Vimy to Ave. des Érables).

Safety improvements to an additional corridor (the 4e Ave corridor in Limoilou) should be completed by mid-November, city officials said.

The additional corridors essentially triple the size of the bike lane network, modelled after Montreal’s Réseau Express Vélo, which began with six km of lanes in 2023.

Coun. Pierre-Luc Lachance, member of the executive committee responsible for mobility and road safety, estimated the cost of this year’s improvements at $4.8 million, although the exact cost won’t be known until all upgrades are com- pleted.

Lachance said the bike lanes are “part of the city’s big ten- year plan for mobility,” which includes a 150-km network serving 85 per cent of the city’s neighbourhoods by 2035.

“We are in a new dynamic to make biking a means of trans- portation and not just a way to have fun,” said Lachance, himself an avid cyclist. “Having separated bike lanes makes a huge difference in terms of safety – there are more families with kids taking their bikes to school. With every new installation, we see behaviour change; when we put in the corridor on Chemin Ste-Foy, the average speed of the cars went down by a few kilometres per hour, and that’s a big deal. If we want to encourage people to walk or take their bikes, it has to be safe.”

Over the next few months, the city is planning public consultations about the future of the bike path network. The consultation calendar is available at ville.quebec.qc.ca/citoyens/participation-citoyenne/activites/index.aspx.

*Editor’s Note: The version of this article published in the print edition of the Oct. 9 QCT refers to the bike network by its previous name, Vélo Cité. City officials announced the new name (VivaCité) on Oct. 8 after the print edition went to press. 

City bike lane network keeps growing Read More »

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