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Métrobus
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Quebec City, Quebec
Summary
Organization
Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC)
Status
Started 1992, in progress
Overview
In 1992, the Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC)
launched a high-frequency bus service to increase public transit
ridership. Métrobus buses travel on reserved bus lanes along
major arteries to minimize travel times.
Fast, frequent and dependable, the Métrobus service is very
much appreciated by users and has proven effective in increasing
ridership. The RTC’s strategic plans now include three new
Métrobus lines.
The victim of its own success, the Métrobus system often
finds itself overloaded. Consequently, the RTC intends to invest
in larger capacity buses. In the long term, a Tramway could
replace the service.
Contact
Pierre Bouvier, Planning and Development Director
Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC)
Telephone: (418) 627-2351, ext. 216
Email: pierre.bouvier@rtcquebec.ca
Corinne Thomas, Services Planning Chief, RTC
Telephone: (418) 627-2351, ext. 4971
Email: corinne.thomas@rtcquebec.ca
Resources
Context
As a result of the recent wave of municipal mergers, the City
of Quebec comprises eight arrondissements [municipal districts],
stretching over 542 km2 with 507 981 inhabitants (2001). Like all
North American cities, Quebec has seen a growing number of
individual motorists. In 10 years, the number of cars in
circulation has grown by 27 000, or 13%.
Number of
registered vehicles, Quebec City (1991-2001)
Source: Société de l'assurance automobile du
Québec
Benefiting from a well-developed expressway network, the city
has 22 km of expressway per 100 000 residents, compared to 8 km
in Montreal and 7 km in Toronto. Over the last few years,
population growth has been mostly located in the more peripheral
sectors of the city. Residential development in these areas is
still low-density. By the same token, commercial activity has
also developed along the expressways. One can find large and free
parking lots, which encourage automobile use, but few pedestrian
infrastructure elements to encourage the use of public
transit.
While individual vehicle use is gaining ground, public transit is
losing its hold. Its ridership is stable, but its relative
significance continues to diminish. In 1991, 16% of weekday
motorized transit trips were on public transit – by 2001,
this percentage had dropped to 10%.
The
proportion of public transit usage Source:
Origin-destination survey (2001), Ministère des Transports
du Québec and Réseau de transport de la
Capitale
The Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) manages
public transit. Created in 1969 by the provincial government,
this public organization provides citizens with quality public
transit services at the best possible cost.
The current RTC network includes:
- A service covering the entire network. These routes
guarantee links at all times between residential districts and
activity centres via major streets and local arterial
streets;
- An Express service that connects during peak periods the
residential districts to downtown Quebec City and Sainte-Foy,
mainly via expressways;
- A high-frequency Métrobus service operating mainly on
reserved bus lanes, serves the major activity centres. Almost
40% of citizens and employers and 73% of post-secondary
educational institutions stand within
800 m of a Métrobus route;
- A Couche-tard (late-night) service for some routes on
Friday and Saturday nights;
- A Taxibus service accessible in certain outlying districts
not served by the RTC.
Policy Context
Problems resulting from the growing use of cars in Quebec
City, as elsewhere, have tangible effects: greenhouse gases,
smog, noise, clogged streets and parking lots, diminished quality
of life, etc.
Public transit offers undeniable relief for many of these
problems, and presents several other advantages:
Public transit allows businesses to benefit from a broader labour
pool, a significant economic factor in selecting a location.
- Access to public transit is essential to many people for
work, school, or reaching health care, cultural and
recreational locations. A 2001 survey revealed that 13% of
Quebec City households don’t own a car.
- Families, who use the bus instead of a car, or those who
eliminate their second car, save over $8000 per year. This
money can then works its way into the local economy, bringing
greater social benefits than car industry can offer.
- Less car usage would allow space to be reclaimed, notably
by reducing oversized streets and diminishing the amount of
space used by parking lots – an estimated 36 km2 of
Quebec City. Some of this space could become pedestrian
infrastructures, parks, and public gardens.
Despite the unquestionable advantages of public transit, its
users benefit from very little preferential treatment or
incentives. In 1992, the government of Quebec stopped funding
public transit, leaving municipalities and users with the entire
bill for maintaining and developing their transit systems –
yet their resources have proven insufficient.
Rationale and Objectives
In 1992, the RTC was already implementing a plan to counteract
the declining use of public transit. The organization targeted
objectives such as improving transit speeds, consolidating major
transit routes, and developing services adapted to the needs of
target groups. At the core of this strategy was the introduction
of the Métrobus, a high-frequency bus service on reserved
lanes. The Métrobus was to serve three major transit routes
in the region.
The establishment of a regional network of reserved bus lanes, as
well as further prioritization of bus circulation, were expected
to allow significant time savings (from 30% to 75% of travel
time, depending on the route) as well as $800 000 in operational
savings thanks to the service’s rapidity and
regularity.
With a transport capability of 1000 cars per hour, the
Métrobus was expected to become the backbone of the transit
network.
All these forecasts proved well founded. The two Métrobus
routes now outperform the traditional network. But while this
recovery plan halted the decrease in public transit ridership, it
hasn’t stopped the rising use of cars. Moreover, the
Métrobus is a victim of its own success, as it is frequently
overloaded. Consequently, in its 2005-2014 strategic plan, the
RTC intends to reinforce the current Métrobus system and add
three new Métrobus lines.
Current
Métrobus routes (green) and planned additions of the same
along major arteries (blue). (Plan stratégique de
développement des services 2005-2014)
This structuring network project benefiting the entire city
will require significant investments at both the municipal and
provincial levels.
The establishment of such a structuring network should increase
ridership by 7 million passengers every year, an increase of 33%.
The modal share on these routes will increase from 15% to
20%.
Actions
From its inception and routinely thereafter, the RTC conducted
a Métrobus mass media campaign to promote the new service
among existing riders as well as explain the new reserved bus
lanes to motorists.
On some routes, the Métrobus uses a lane accessible only to
buses and taxis. Over 38 km long in each direction, it covers
about half the Métrobus routes. Seventy-seven (77) regular
low floor buses and two articulated buses use it.
Métrobus operates seven days a week from 5:30 a.m. (6 on
Sundays) to 1 a.m., with a late service Fridays and
Saturdays.
Its stops, called Métrobus stations, have distinctive signs
and are spaced further apart than regular bus stops. Stops on
regular routes are spaced about 250 m apart, while Métrobus
stations are space 430 m apart on average. There are 163 stations
in total, most with bus shelters.
The average frequency of the service varies by route, from 2 to 4
minutes during rush period, 5 to 10 minutes at off-peak times and
7 to 15 minutes on evenings and weekends.
To make it easier for buses to enter traffic flow, and to speed
up circulation, 10 intersections use priority traffic lights
(white lights). They give buses the exclusive ability to turn
left from a right-hand lane or allow for no-wait departures.
The RTC has been trying a pre-emptive light system that allows a
bus to trigger or extend green light times on certain arteries.
This system increases service regularity even during rush
hours.
In 1992, the RTC created the Parc-O-Bus - a network of 24
park-and-ride lots providing 900 parking spots, to encourage car
drivers to use public transit. Seven of these lots are located
along Métrobus routes and have a 82% user rate.
About half
the Métrobus routes run along reserved bus lanes like this
one to Université Laval campus
Reserved
bus lane, De La Couronne Street
The
Métrobus system transports over 15 million passengers a
year
Results
The two Métrobus routes are used by 38% of RTC customers,
who use the system 49 500 times on an average weekday. Annually,
this represents more than 15 million passengers.
On the whole, the reliability rate of the Métrobus is 88% on
weekdays. The service is considered reliable when the time
interval between two departures equals its predicted time, with a
two-minute margin of error. The Métrobus lines perform
better than standard buses. They also have the largest ridership,
with about 93 boarding per client-service hour, compared to 70
for the regular and 54 for the Express services.
Despite its reliability, speed and capacity, some problems
persist, for the Métrobus is regularly overloaded. Its
maximum load travelling in one direction varies from 1000 to 1100
users, while theoretically it should not exceed 800 people. The
addition of more departures during rush hour increases the number
of bus trains (three or more buses travelling in a row) along the
routes, slowing down the circuit. Finally, according to a survey
taken in 2001, 62% of car drivers respected the reserved lanes,
depending largely on the time of day and direction of travel.
Participants
The RTC has been working to ensure Métrobus’s
success with the City of Quebec, the municipal police force, and
the Ministère des Transports du Québec.
Resources
- 79 buses
- 220 000 hours of operation every year, about 20% of overall
resources for 38% of the system’s ridership
- 4 700 000 km driven
Timeline
- 1991
Tabling of the 1991-1993 action plan «Pour la relance du
transport en commun dans la région de Québec»
(To revitalize public transit in the Quebec City region)
- 1992
Revival of the public transit network. Implementation of the
Métrobus service. New reserved lanes over 30 km
- 1993 –1995
Extension of
Métrobus lines
- 2003
Discussion paper on strategic goals for 2003-2013.
Recommendation to reinforce public transit by increasing
Métrobus ridership
- 2003
Study on the feasibility and convenience of creating a Tramway
in Quebec City
- 2004
City of Quebec holds public hearings on the future of public
transit
Commissioning of a feasibility study for two new Métrobus
lines (to be tabled in March 2005)
- 2005
Tabling of the RTC strategic plan. Recommendation to purchase
articulated buses and to develop three new Métrobus
lines.
Lessons Learned
After more than a decade of operations, the RTC has learned a
number of lessons regarding the operation of the Métrobus
lines.
- Police need to patrol frequently to ensure that reserved
Métrobus lanes are respected.
- Decreased crowding during rush hour requires the use of
greater capacity articulated buses. The speed and reliability
of the service depends in part on a system that gives priority
to buses at traffic lights.
- The RTC has also learned much on strategy.
- Despite the existence and success of the Métrobus,
nothing is definitively guaranteed. The RTC has to stay
vigilant in the political arena to justify its reserved bus
lanes.
- The Métrobus lines by themselves, while dependable and
efficient, cannot be the only response to all the problems
associated with motorized transportation. Several complementary
strategic actions will be needed to increase public
transit’s share.
- The success of the Métrobus shows that there is a high
demand for such a service. The Métrobus could be seen as a
first step towards implementation of the Tramway, a
significantly more expensive yet much more efficient mode of
transportation thanks to higher capacities and greater speed
– and more structuring in terms of urban planning.
- Thanks to the Métrobus’s high speed and
frequency, its routes serve clients from a much greater
distance than regular services. People are willing to walk
greater distances to get to the service. A transfer in the
customer base has been observed, sometimes resulting in less
ridership in more peripheral routes – an effect the RTC
was not expecting.
Next Steps
The RTC is awaiting approval and funding from the
Ministère des Transports du Québec to buy articulated
buses and build a garage, both necessary to consolidate the
current Métrobus system. The organization intends to have
these improvements in place for 2008, as well as the progressive
implementation of the three new Métrobus lines by 2010.
