Author: The Equity
Published October 9, 2024

K.C. Jordan, LJI Journalist

Transcollines, a public transit provider in the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais, is still searching for a service provider to operate an on-demand transit service in the MRC Pontiac, and is confident it will find one by Dec. 2025. 

Transcollines has been operating an on-demand service in the MRC des Collines since Sept. 2022, partnering with local taxi companies to expand the network’s reach beyond the bounds of its fixed bus routes. Riders can book transportation using the CityWay app on their phone, and a vehicle will come pick them up and then drop them at their destination. 

The service in the Collines has been successful to the point of oversaturation. Radio-Canada reported on Sept. 26 that especially during rush hours, on-demand users are waiting several hours for a vehicle to become available. 

But since putting out a call for interest in Sept. 2023 for taxi services in the MRC Pontiac, the transit provider has been unable to get a service rolling in the region. 

Communications manager Chantal Mainville said Transcollines has specific technological requirements that local providers weren’t able to meet. 

“They need to be ready to work with a system that they are maybe not used to working with, or we need to make sure the system they use now is compatible with CityWay. It’s not everyone who is prepared to make those changes,” she said.  

Despite the lack of response, Transcollines still sees a clear demand for on-demand service in the Pontiac. Mainville said in the public consultations they held last summer, they found that people in the Pontiac wanted transit service closer to home. 

The only route Transcollines currently operates in the MRC Pontiac runs once a day in each direction, with the morning bus leaving Chapeau at 5:17 a.m. heading toward Gatineau.

Mainville said people wanted more accessible service at times that work better for them.  

“They wanted hours that can be a bit broader than the bus, but also having vehicles that can go further into the regions instead of staying on the main roads,” she said, acknowledging that the bus route staying on the 148 is inconvenient for some potential riders. 

She said part of the on-demand plan would involve shortening the bus route to a point closer to Gatineau, and then allowing the bus to offer on-demand service to people who live deeper into the MRC Pontiac. The bus would be able to leave Highway 148, collect riders closer to their homes, then bring them all to the fixed departure point, from where the bus would drive its usual route to Gatineau. 

“We’re very convinced that by transforming a portion of the bus route into on-demand service there would be more clientele interested in using the service,” she said, adding that they would also like to implement on-demand service for those people who are not using the bus, much like the service that already exists in the Collines. It is for this service for which they are looking for a new provider.

Mainville said these consultations, as well as other avenues of research, have taught them a lot about what their riders want and what they need to do to get an on-demand service rolling in the Pontiac. In the Collines, 58 per cent of people use the on-demand service for work, 25 per cent for leisure, 13 per cent for studies, and 4 per cent for health-related reasons. 

Transcollines is soon going to unveil an on-demand service in the Municipality of Pontiac that will run Monday-Friday between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. in the sectors of Eardley, Luskville, Aylmer and Breckenridge. It hopes that after a trial phase, it will get similar statistics about how people in the Municipality of Pontiac, and by extension the MRC Pontiac, want to use the service. 

The present contract with Transcollines’ current on-demand providers will terminate in Dec. 2025, and Mainville said the new contract will include the MRC Pontiac in its description. 

This means that any provider that wins the contract will be responsible for on-demand transportation in the MRC Pontiac, regardless of whether the provider is based in the Pontiac. 

In the meantime, Transcollines is still looking for operators who would be willing to operate in the MRC Pontiac, and has been in touch with various operators about this possibility. Since these talks are still in progress, she did not comment on which operators they have been discussing with.  

THE EQUITY reached out to Campbell’s Bay-based transit provider Transporaction, and general director Sylvie Bertrand said they met with Transcollines but were unable to satisfy their requirements in terms of drivers. 

“We have 60 volunteers who drive their own cars,” Bertrand said in a French interview, adding that number isn’t even enough to cover the Pontiac’s current transportation needs. 

“Ideally we would have 10 to 15 more drivers,” she said. 

She said Transporaction’s service is really designed to provide service to seniors to and from appointments, and that it doesn’t have the capacity to take on additional routes. 

Mainville wouldn’t say what Transcollines’ conversations have been like with the MRC Pontiac. The MRC, for its part, provided this statement.

“The MRC is working with to find a supplier and roll out the increased service in our area, however, since it is Transcollines that has the mandate to offer the service and sign a contractual agreement, the MRC’s role is limited to being a facilitator between the organization and potential local service providers.”

Despite the challenges, Mainville is optimistic Transcollines will be able to find an operator. 

“We have proven that it’s feasible for operators to do this kind of thing,” she said. “It draws the attention of others around who say ‘Well, maybe we would like to make this kind of money too.’” 

Transcollines will announce more details about its Municipality of Pontiac service in an upcoming press conference, though no date has been set.

Scroll to Top