I have met Jean-Thomas Bernard, professor of economics at Laval University and Alain Thivierge, Professor of Environment and Geography at Collège François-Xavier Garneau, as well as Jean Mercier and Jean-Pierre Derriennic, professors in the Department of Political Science Laval University, to help me to understand why Quebec has a network of public transport so undeveloped and to think about the project of a tram in Québec.

In North America, people want some space to live (a garden, a big house ...) so the suburbs are attractive. Therefore, the low price of petrol and the fact that driving 50km lasts as much time as 5km by bus explain that car use is much more attractive than public transport. Studies have shown that people would give up their cars to take the bus, only if the price of gasoline exceeds $3 per liter (about 2 €20, while it costs about 1 € now). Moreover, public transport is considered as low quality, it is just for the students and the elderly who can no longer drive, but not for people who have enough money to afford a car. Thus, the public transport network is little developed in Quebec (the only way to connect the airport to downtown is by taxi). There are neither tram nor train (except to join Montreal), nor subway. "The automobile has taken over" admits Jean-Thomas Bernard.

In the United States, there are 800 cars per 1000 inhabitants as against 600 in Canada. It is in both cases very high and sufficient to allow almost every person of driving age to have a vehicle available. So, it is not easy to establish good public transport networks in North America because users are not numerous. But what is a good network of transport ? I asked Jean Mercier (Department of Politics at Laval University) : a good network integrates transportation and town and country planning. Metropolitan governance is also necessary, it means that the project must be undertaken by a metropolitan area and not just by a city and an authoritative institution in this area must be created. In Quebec, several cities have banded together to solve the problem of disputes between small towns and Quebec : 13 cities have merged with Quebec.

In France, public transport is more developed. Why ? Because city planning is taken more into account and because governance is more centralized. And above all, the highest density of our cities, which allows more rationality, is an important asset (public transport costs less because more people use it). Density is a recent objective of North American cities. The greater opposition towards taxes in North America is also a factor that has not helped the development of good networks.

Jean Mercier thinks that in North America, they must first create hallways (no grids as it is often the case) and make denser these corridors. This would facilitate the development of good public transport networks.

In this context, Quebec is setting up a project of a tram line connecting the two shores of the St. Laurent. This project is not easy because Quebec has no real city center, no central platform where public transport might converge. Even workplaces are often relocated to the suburbs to avoid traffic jams. So there is not a single very busy route. And as in Montreal, the suburbs are not dense at all.

Jean-Pierre Derriennic (Department of Politics at Laval University) focused on this sustainable mobility project of the city that is the tram. After outlining its views and proposals to the city council of Quebec on the topic, he held a lecture at the university on the same subject, with fewer taboos ...

The concern of the city council is to densify the city to follow a more european urban model. But according to Jean-Pierre Derriennic, the city goes in the wrong way to reach this aim : the tram route passes through areas with little activity hoping that it will bring the activity in these areas, whereas it should pass through the most busy areas first.

The trolley bus, a mode of transport which has been used for long in France (here in Lyon in 1941).

The tram is quiet and does not pollute. But Jean-Pierre Derriennic suggests to Quebec, another type of transport that also has these two advantages : the trolley bus (a bus with takes its energy from electric wires on the top of the vehicle, see the photo). It is as quiet and emits as low emissions as the tram and can be as fast if there are special ways for it. The major drawback is the aesthetic aspect : it takes two wires, instead of one for the tram. Nevertheless, Jean-Pierre Derriennic takes the example of Rome to suggest that, as in the italian capital, these buses could be equipped with batteries to run without wires in the bends (where the electrical installations are the ugliest) or in front of beautiful historic buildings, so that the wires must be set up only in a straight lines and where it is less annoying.

The major advantage of the trolley on the tram is the price : it is about 20 times cheaper. And electrifying all the existing bus network would be 10 times cheaper than the tram while carrying more people, a little faster. Roadworks for the tram are also problematic, it is necessary to cut the road for a long while.

Jean-Pierre Derriennic suggests a second alternative, more to make the city council think about it than to really plan it : like taxis in Japan, removable batteries could be installed in buses. Thus, a charged battery is returned to the bus whenever it reaches the end of the line (so no need to immobilize the vehicle to recharge the batteries). However the cost of the batteries may be very expensive, the issue has not been studied very seriously.

To learn more about the mobility projects and Urban Planning of Quebec, here is the website of the town hall, a video of the future will welcome you : http://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/aprop...

See you soon, Be green, Ben