Have you ever cycled to work one morning, only to be confronted with a violent thunderstorm that makes it impossible for you to get back on your bike on the way home? Have you ever struggled to get your bike home after a mechanical problem? Have you ever found yourself stuck with your bike on the wrong side of an inter-rive link?
If you live in the greater Montreal area, you'll now have one more solution to these irritating situations: the STM has just announced a pilot project to substantially improve the times at which you'll be allowed to take your bike on the metro. Until now, weekday «rush hours» have represented more than 8 hours of prohibition for bicycles. These will now be reduced to just 5 hours a day, from 7 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. and from 3.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Better still, from May 20 to August 20, these restrictions will disappear completely, and you'll be able to take your bike on board at any time!
Access to the metro is a long-standing demand of Montreal cyclists, as witnessed by the theatrical actions of Le Monde à bicyclette back in the 80s, which enabled access to the metro as we know it today. Beyond the exceptional situations where we have to fall back on the metro, we would often benefit, on a daily basis, from being able to combine the best of cycling and the metro. Combining bike and metro means combining agility over short distances and speed over long ones. Nothing beats the bike for covering the first or last few kilometers between the nearest metro station and your initial or final destination!
To help Quebec households free themselves from their second - or even first - car, we'll need to multiply intermodal possibilities for all their needs. Combining bus, metro and bike or bike-share for daily commuting, of course, but also taking your bike on board a river shuttle for a day's cycling, or bringing your mount on board intercity buses. And let's not forget the trains: after a three-year suspension of service, bicycles should be back on board VIA Rail trains in the Quebec City - Windsor corridor in May.
Let's rejoice in this good news, and let's each do our part to ensure that cohabitation on board is as harmonious as possible. In the case of the STM, we'll sometimes have to let a busy metro go by and take the next one; we'll have to separate momentarily from our cycling friends to divide ourselves between the different doors and cars; and we'll have to show understanding when exceptional circumstances make it difficult to transport bicycles. These few adjustments will enable us to make this pilot project a success that will continue over time. We have everything to gain!
Jean-François Rheault,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer