The rack price of fuel has increased by 31% since December 2021 according to Stacy Patenaude, vice-president of communications and public affairs at Transdev. Vehicle maintenance and insurance costs have also increased. Ridership has also never returned to pre-pandemic levels due to teleworking according to the company.
“The Limocar service, serving Estrie, does not receive any funding from the government,” we read in a press release published on the company’s website. There was temporary aid during the pandemic, but it ended in December 2022. In order to properly serve the population by offering efficient and safe mobility solutions, Transdev is obliged to increase its prices.
A round trip now costs $103.58 for an adult, $88.04 for students or people over 60 and $62.15 for a child between 5 and 12 years old. A round trip between Bromont and Montreal for an adult is now $64.22. These prices don’t make much sense according to Sherbrooke MP Christine Labrie.
“As long as a couple or a family decides to make a trip, it makes no sense,” laments Mr. Labrie, who mentions that services between Quebec and Sherbrooke have also increased significantly in recent years. There is no way this rate can compete with the car. Limocar is not the only company to raise its prices and it just reminds us that relying on private, for-profit companies to offer this service is not the right solution.”
Christine Labrie, Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke. (Jean Roy/La Tribune)
A regulated monopoly
Interurban transportation in Quebec is managed according to a regulated monopoly, which consists of giving exclusivity of the route to one company. Limocar is therefore the only carrier that can offer the bus connection between Montreal and Sherbrooke. Unlike public transport within cities, intercity coach transport is mainly financed by revenue from ticket sales.
This formula is simply not viable according to Ms. Labrie.
“It should be a public service or at least supported by non-profit companies or cooperatives,” she explains. As long as it is for profit, there will be places in our territory that will not be well served or not at all. The model responds very poorly to the needs of citizens. There are a lot of people who have to travel, sometimes even on a regular basis, between different cities across Quebec.”
According to a recent publication from the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information, the intercity transportation industry has been in decline for 40 years.
If there were more than 6,000 departures per week in 1981, in 2023 there would only be 880 departures per week.
“There are a lot of people who have decided to only have one car for the family and who need to travel to another city,” she summarizes. Sometimes it’s to visit someone, but it can also be to get medical care. Carpooling is great, but some people don’t want to travel with strangers. There are also people with special needs. It is therefore a problem that this transport offer is not available everywhere and that when it is, it is at a price that is really not accessible.”
