RTC Québec launches new on-demand transport service

Credit: Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC)

The Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC Québec) has announced the launch of its new on-demand transport service, Flexibus. Ahead of its launch, customers residing in the areas of North-East Quebec (Wendake, Saint-Émile, Lac-Saint-Charles and Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides), North-West (Val-Bélair and Loretteville) and east of Beauport (Courville and Montmorency) had been invited to try the new service.

This new public transport service, upon reservation, is complimentary to the current offer of RTC Québec. For the same price as a bus trip, Flexibus – which combines flexibility and availability to facilitate travel – allows customers to make local trips; for example, to go to the pharmacy or library, or to reach the bus network. The destinations must be located within the same targeted area.

In order to use the service, customers must first download the RTC Flexibus app and create an account.

“The deployment of Flexibus embodies the modern vision of mobility that is gradually being rolled out in the Quebec City agglomeration – namely that of offering flexible and efficient travel options, centred on the citizen. The portfolio of mobility options will continue to evolve over the next few years in order to make public transit an easy and intuitive choice and to ensure that Quebec becomes an attractive city that stands out in terms of mobility,” said Bruno Marchand, Mayor of Quebec.

“With the commissioning of Flexibus, RTC is taking a new step towards the deployment of integrated mobility. By adding transport on-demand to its service offer, the RTC is positioning itself even more as a leader in mobility and demonstrating that it places the customer at the heart of its priorities by listening to the needs expressed and by deploying mobility options that respond to it. On-demand transportation, in addition to facilitating travel, will become a real alternative to using the car,” said Maude Mercier Larouche, President of RTC Québec. 

Flexibus will be deployed gradually across the city of Quebec and will be deployed to seven targeted areas by 2025.  

Credit: RTC Québec

For the first year, the Flexibus budget will be $2.1 million and, once all the zones are served, the annual budget will be approximately $4.5 million.

Ridership for the first year has been estimated to be around 124,000 trips with the nine vehicles that will be in service. Ultimately, ridership will be 400,000 annual trips and 24 vehicles will be in service.