The Réseau de transport de la Capitale (, RTC), the brand name for the ''Société de transport de Québec'', provides urban

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

services in the

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

area. It was founded in 2002, continuing the operations of the former ''Société de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Québec'', as the latter was merged into the new Quebec City.

History

Early public transit in Quebec City

Before the bus, public transit was provided in the form of a tramway operated by the Quebec Railway, Light & Power Company. It was initially horse-drawn in 1863, and made electric in 1897. This network connected the upper and lower towns. It was extended in 1910 to Sillery via Boulevard Saint-Cyrille (later renamed Boulevard René-Lévesque) and Rue Sheppard, to Avenue Maguire. A new line was established in 1912 connecting the historic district of Beauport to the Kent House. The tramway began to be converted to buses in 1937, and this conversion was complete by 1948 with the closure of the line in Saint-Sauveur.

Modern period

The modern public transit system was born on November 23rd 1969 with the ''Loi de la Communauté urbaine de Québec''. It took the name ''Commission de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Québec'' (CTCUQ). The CTCUQ improved transit in Quebec City in numerous ways: dedicated bus lanes on certain arterial roads in 1975, express routes in 1977, and the establishment of the Parc-O-Bus in 1980. In this period, it also acquired multiple private bus companies and standardized fares. The organization underwent a major reorganization in 1992, and a recovery plan was implemented. Most notably, this plan put in place the Métrobus and Couche-tard services, more dedicated bus lanes, and network changes. The CTCUQ became the ''Société de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Québec'' (STCUQ) in 1994. Following the municipal reorganizations of Quebec in 2002, it briefly became the ''Societé de transport de Québec'', and finally, the ''Réseau de transport de la Capitale'' (RTC). The ridership of this network grew substantially in this period, reaching a ridership of 41.3 million in 2007. A system of electric

minibuses A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

known as Écolobus was added to the system in 2008, but later phased out in 2015. Additionally, the Opus card was implemented for fare payment on buses. The RTC acquired 101 hybrid buses from 2012 to 2015. It has also implemented an

intelligent transportation system An intelligent transportation system (ITS) is an advanced application that aims to provide services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management and enable users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and 's ...

implementing GPS tracking. A bus network computerization project known as RTC Nomade was implemented over 10 years that allows passengers to view live locations of buses online, on bus information screens, through bus audio announcements, and at stations.

Operations

Métrobus

The RTC operates six high-frequency lines under the Métrobus brand: lines 800 through 804, and 807. Lines 800 and 801 run together from De Marly to Dorchester/de la Couronne. Line 801 continues on to Terminus du Zoo, while line 800 diverges to the Montmorency falls. Line 802, runs from Terminus Beauport to Station Belvédère. Then, line 803 runs from Terminus les Saules to Terminus Beauport, through Le Mesnil, Lebourgneuf and Charlesbourg. Line 804, links Sainte-Foy with Loretteville going through the Terminus les Saules and the Université Laval campus and then finally the 807 goes between De Marly and Place D'Youville by riding along the Chemin Sainte-Foy until it merges to Rue Saint-Jean. Service is every 5 minutes during peak times, every 10 minutes before and after then, and every 15 minutes during less-travelled times.

Other services

* Parc-O-Bus: select

parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...

s to encourage use of public transit * STAC: ''Service de transport adapté de la Capitale'':

paratransit Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...

for the physically challenged * Taxibus:an on-call taxi service connecting passengers in remote areas to the nearest bus stop * Flexibus: an on-demand transit service in certain areas poorly served by conventional transit

Future projects

A study concluded in March 2003, stated the introduction of

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

transit services would be feasible for the entire area. In March 2018, a $3 billion proposal for a combination of tramways (the Quebec City Tramway), an electric trambus and reserved bus lanes was announced. In November 2019, the Réseau de transport de la Capitale announced that it is planning to open the city's first BRT line along Boulevard Charest by 2026, utilizing a fleet of bi-articulated

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

buses.

Fleet

Active * Nova LFS HEV (2010, 2015-2021) * Nova LFS Artic (2009-2012) * Nova LFS Artic HEV (2016, 2022-2023) * Nova LFS (2006-2013) *

Van Hool Van Hool NV () was a Belgium, Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, Coach (bus), coaches, trolleybuses, and Semi-trailer, trailers. Most of the buses and coaches were built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from C ...

A330K (2019) The active fleet is wheelchair accessible. File:Parcours87 RTC.jpg, 2013 Nova Bus LFS File:RTC 2201.jpg, 2022 Nova Bus LFSe+ File:Québec RTC 1064 bus 5591569390.jpg, 2010 Nova Bus LFS Artic File:RTC 2357.jpg, 2023 Nova Bus LFS Artic HEV File:Réseau de transport de la Capitale 01.jpg, Inside of an articulated LFS HEV (Métrobus service) File:Réseau de transport de la Capitale 02.jpg, Inside of a regular LFS (regular service) Retired * GM New Look (1959-1985) (T6H-5307) * MCI Classic Gray Line (1983-1986-1988-1989) * MCI Classic Articulated (1992) (TC60-102N) * MCI Classic (1990-1992) (TC40-102N) * GM Classic (1983-1986) (TC40-102N) * Nova LFS (1996, 1998, 1999-2005) * Nova Bus Classic (1994-1996) (TC40-102N) * Tecnobus Gulliver (2008) * Orion II (1994) File:RTC CLASSIC 8613.JPG, 1986 GM Classic File:Québec RTC - Nova Bus LFS.jpg, 2000 Nova Bus LFS File:Ecolobus Quebec 04.JPG, 2008 Technobus Gulliver

References

External links

RTC website (French only)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reseau de Transport de la Capitale

Transport in Quebec City