On Sunday in Montreal, dozens of protesters denounced the lack of government support for public transportation in the province.
It is hypothesized that without additional government financial support, Metro Montreal’s opening hours could be shortened.
I don’t have a car and have used public transport since I was a child.
I never found it normal to have to pay to use public transport.
Vicious circle
Certainly by reducing the availability of public transport users we will not encourage more people to use it.
If we really want more people to use it, why does it cost so much? And why have many of these networks in the provinces been stagnating for years?
We cannot hope that the goodwill of the population alone will trigger a real switch to public transport.
It is imperative that the government invests the necessary money to make public transport more attractive, comfortable, accessible and safe.
Users deserve better
I find that we ask a lot of public transport users.
Regular public transport journeys can be stressful: uncertain timetables depending on traffic or delays, standing warm in your winter coat when the bus or subway is too full, the smell of perfume giving the lady next to us a headache, the annoyances, which we can fall victim to in the evening, and so on.
While these users are decongesting roads and reducing their environmental footprint, the government is not doing everything it can to improve the experience of people using public transport.
The least we could do is make this service free.
