Starting June 21, the Ville de Mont-Tremblant will provide free bus local service to all users. Mayor Luc Brisebois and the council members made the announcement on May 1. The news, which was spread far and wide by the social media in largely positive terms, appears to have been well received by the people of Mont-Tremblant as well as TCMT users.

Launched December 11, 2000, the Mont-Tremblant Transit Service (TCMT) is unique in Québec. No other municipality of this size provides such a service. However, free usage of a transit service for all users is not without precedent. The Ville de Mont-Tremblant is following in the footsteps of the Ville de Sainte-Julie.

After checking with the latter, Mont-Tremblant projects that making the service free of charge, along with improvements to service, will result in a minimum 40 per cent increase in ridership.  Making the service free will increase the annual operating costs by about $250,000 for a total annual cost of $885,000.

Service improvement

Until now, the TCMT offered lines A and B, which ran along the same route in the territory of the Ville de Mont-Tremblant. The route linked three “poles”, or hubs, of the territory: downtown, the Village, and Tremblant Resort. Line B, which ran during the busy seasons – summer and winter – will now be in service year-round.

As a result, 2,150 hours of service will be offered during the less busy periods with an additional service from 5:40 a.m. to 6:35 p.m. This addition to the schedule will mean that the bus passes more often, and will reduce waiting time.

To respond to the needs generated by local development, bus stops will be added to the route progressively over time. Nothing, however, leads one to anticipate the addition of a bus stop at the Domaine Saint-Bernard.

Connections

The new schedule will fit with the transportation services that run through this area, creating an increase of close to 300 per cent in the number of connections with the Laurentians inter-municipal transportation service (TACL).

We are informed, as well, that the waiting time will be decreased for the connection with inter-city transportation (Transport interurbain) to and from Montreal and Mont-Laurier.

“I also invite our adjacent towns. I think that it would be a great idea to launch a pilot project, to connect our municipalities. We know that when we want to help with the labour shortage, there are two things that we, the towns, can work on: transportation and accommodation. With a pilot project, the accommodation boundaries would disappear. It’s something to think about,” said Luc Briseboit during his remarks on May 1.

A social and economic measure

Several reasons motivated this decision by the town council. From an economic perspective, the goal is to respond to the issue of labour force recruitment and to support the local economy. In terms of social and community reasons, this step should allow some people to break free from their isolation and allow everyone to take advantage of their environment.

Greening our transportation

When you consider that transportation is responsible for 86 per cent of the community’s greenhouse gas emissions, free public transit should contribute significantly to the reduction of our ecological footprint.

Federal Liberal MP David Graham made a point of saluting the Ville de Mont-Tremblant’s initiative in the Chamber of Commons. “It’s a step that reaches everyone […]. It allows a reduction in greenhouse gases and shows that economic development and environmental protection can and must go hand in hand […]”, he stated.

There will be a new bus schedule on June 21. The Ville invites us, however, to make the Transit application a priority. It’s available on both Apple and Android platforms.