2023-11-27 05:00:00
A Montrealer who always took the bus to see her family in Trois-Rivières regret to see the service transport between regions deteriorate, to the point where she decided to get her driver’s license at age 50.
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“If you miss the last bus in the afternoon, you have to wait until the next day. It’s not possible if there is an emergency, if my mother is unwell. It is no longer a reliable means of transport to move from one region to another,” laments Catherine Lesieur.
The Ahuntsic resident has always been able to get by without a driver’s license. Since her arrival in Montreal 25 years ago, she has taken buses from Central Station to see her friends in Quebec and her family in Trois-Rivières.
She is not surprised that there are seven times fewer bus departures going from one region to another than there were 40 years ago, according to a recent study by the Institute for Research and Development. socio-economic information revealed Monday.
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More expensive than before
“In the 1990s, there were departures at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m.,” laments the woman who has just celebrated her fiftieth anniversary.
To go to Trois-Rivières from Montreal, there are only three departures per day: at 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. During his last trip, at the end of summer, it cost him $94.40 with taxes for a round trip.
Photo Agence QMI, Mario Beauregard
“It’s more expensive than before. Before the pandemic, we had a discount for a round trip, that no longer exists. There is a supplement if there is extra baggage,” she laments.
She has always been able to get by without a driver’s license, but she has to face the facts: with her aging mother, she needs reliable and flexible transportation to get from one region to another.
“I will join the ranks of motorists next year, with Communauto. […] I still find that regrettable, especially at a time when we are trying to promote public transportation. I find that there is a big disinvestment on this level,” she says.
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