Residents of the Municipality of Pontiac can now book on-demand public transit with a few simple clicks.
Outaouais transit provider Transcollines has partnered with Taxi Loyal to offer rides within the municipality that can be reserved online, through a mobile app, or by phone, at least two hours and as much as 30 days ahead of the desired pick-up time.
For a cost of $5, a wheel-chair accessible taxi van will then pick up the rider at one of the dozens of stops along Highway 148 between Quyon and Aylmer, including several in Quyon’s village centre, and drop them off at their destination of choice within the municipality, or at one of a handful of stops in the Gatineau area.
Rides can be booked weekdays between 6.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.
Chantal Mainville, communications manager for Transcollines, has said the first year of the service will act as a pilot to help the transit provider learn more about transit needs in the municipality.
“We’re going to test the hours, observe how people are going to use it, and what the most popular stops are going to be,” she said, noting the service will evolve over time to reflect these usage patterns.
Transcollines, the same organization that currently operates the fixed 910 bus line that travels from Allumette Island to Gatineau and back every weekday, has been offering on-demand transit in the municipalities of Chelsea, La Pêche, Val-des-Monts and Cantley since Nov. 2022.
The Municipality of Pontiac is the last of the five municipalities in the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais to receive the service.
“The challenge here is the size of the municipality, the way we are made. It’s not like Chelsea or La Pêche that are more dense. So that’s why it took us a long time to figure out how to provide it,” said Roger Larose, mayor of the Municipality of Pontiac.
“First we had to find the company to work with us, and that was a challenge to find a company who wanted to do the Pontiac.”
The new service was officially launched at a press conference held at the municipality’s town hall in Luskville on Tuesday morning.
“I think it’s going to help the people that don’t have a car, or who don’t like to drive, or who are too old. It’s going to give them a way to get out into the municipality, to visit people, to go shopping,” Larose said.
“We’ve got kids that have got to go to college and all that stuff. It’s going to help the students as well as the older people.”
Mainville noted the organization is planning for the 910 bus to eventually offer on-demand services when it’s not running the fixed line, and hopes to bring more taxis to serve the municipality down the road.
As for the possible expansion of on-demand transit into MRC Pontiac, Mainville said Transcollines plans to post a call for tenders in the new year to find a provider who will be able to roll out the service here.
