Canada/One year of free public transit and a 58% increase in ridership

Rouyn-Noranda has been offering free public transit for the past year. Since May 1, 2023, the city has seen a 58% increase in ridership.

For the first two months of 2024, January and February, we calculated just over 26,000 passages. If we extend this to a full year, we could have projections for the whole of 2024 of over 160[000] passengers, which would truly be a record since the very beginning of public transit in Rouyn-Noranda," enthuses deputy mayor Samuelle Ramsay-Houle.

Rouyn-Noranda's elected officials had already announced that the free service would continue until the end of 2024.

The new service is still under study," she says. We're in the process of doing that with the call for tenders that's been issued. If all goes well, we should see the new service at the end of 2024. The financial analysis of fares is currently underway.

The creation of new routes is being studied, notably to the Évain, Noranda-Nord, Granada and McWatters neighborhoods.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca