By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative
Lynda Brown can’t count the number of hours she’s spent waiting for her Transcollines ride to take her to and from her medical appointments at the cancer centre in Gatineau.
The Wakefield resident, who is battling Stage 4 breast cancer, has relied heavily on the on-demand taxi service since it launched in 2022 and said, while the first couple of years were “working great,” the last several months have proved a struggle to book rides.
“I was going to the Gatineau Hospital – the cancer centre. I went in for tests; I went to the Hull Hospital…” said Brown. “And the thing about it was…I allowed my whole day to be taken up with getting a ride in and then a ride back. And that would be many hours.”
Brown told the Low Down that after Transcollines delays got so bad, she would book rides to doctor’s appointments, not knowing if she could even book a ride back home. She’s said she’s been stranded multiple times for hours at hospitals and medical clinics throughout the region.
“Last week I tried to make an appointment to go to Masham, but I didn’t get a two-way ride. It wasn’t possible,” said Brown, explaining that the Transcollines booking site had no return trips available to book. She said that lack of reliability is killing her chance at leading a “normal life.”
“I am over 70, I’m a cancer patient who goes to medical appointments,” said Brown. “I’m trying to have a part-time job and have a kind of normal life. I can’t walk to the General Store. I can’t walk anywhere.”
According to Transcollines spokesperson Chantal Mainville, the organization is aware of the issues plaguing the public transportation system in recent months but explained that the delays are a product of the service’s success, adding that the service saw “remarkable growth” since it launched two years ago.
Mainville explained that the service is at its full capacity. Despite the organization’s customer base growing, it hasn’t been able to add drivers or cars to its fleet in the past two years.
“All government grants allocated for its creation and implementation have been fully utilized, and we are now operating at full capacity within the limits of our existing budget,” said Mainville.
Transcollines’ annual budget is $6 million, with funding coming from the MRC des Collines (33 per cent), user fees (10 per cent,) advertising and other revenue sources (seven per cent) and the rest – close to $3 million – coming in the form of provincial grants.
Since the service is at capacity, Mainville said Transcollines will ask for more funding from municipalities to improve and expand the service.
“To support future development, we have submitted a financial framework to the municipalities, outlining several scenarios for consideration in their upcoming budgets’” said Mainville. “Our objective is to secure increased funding for on-demand transportation in the coming years while remaining mindful of municipal financial constraints.”
Mainville said that ridership numbers alone are enough to justify more funding from local municipalities, as close to 3,000 residents were transported across 57,155 trips in 2023 alone. This year, from January through Oct. 31, 2,698 users have completed 50,670 trips, working out to about 225 riders each day. To date, 9,825 people have signed up for the Transcollines On-Demand online platform.
“These figures highlight the growing demand and importance of our service in the community,” said Mainville. “The on-demand service is gaining significant attention and is increasingly being adopted by public transportation organizations worldwide. It continues to generate strong interest within the Hills community, with the numbers clearly reflecting its impact. We are confident that the growth and development of this service will remain a top priority in the municipal budget for years to come.”
Until the service can secure increased funding from municipalities, Mainville said Transcollines is looking at revising some of its systems to improve wait times and efficiency, including revising trip durations and time slots; converting to higher-capacity vehicles; and integrating routes with existing regional transportation networks, like the STO buses in Gatineau.
Mainville said the organization is also working on ways to improve efficiency, like encouraging ride-pooling trips by switching from cars to larger vans that can accommodate more passengers. Mainville said, while the ride-pooling system “was not optimal” during the first year since Transcollines On-Demand launched, it has improved: the average number of passengers per trip in a three-seat taxi was 3.47, while five-seater vans took an average of 4.96 passengers per trip.
“When a taxi transports a single passenger, we also agree that it is not the ideal solution for the environment. However, it can still help reduce overconsumption if that person chooses public transportation instead of purchasing a car,” added Mainville. “Moreover, most stops served by the on-demand service (TAD) are strategically located transfer points for accessing other public transit services in the region. A user travelling by taxi for part of their route can easily continue their journey by bus. We view the TAD service as an excellent gateway to incorporating public transit into users’ travel habits.”
For people like Brown, all eyes will be on municipal budgets for 2025 with the hope they’ll be putting aside cash to improve the service.