Announced to very little fanfare in late 2017, Montreal threw its hat in the ring for the new Smart Cities Challenge. In a statement, Mayor Valérie Plante invited Montrealers to participate in an app-based survey to share their ideas for increasing the quality of life around the city.
Early results of the survey indicated that some of the most important issues for Montrealers are the development of better road networks, improved bike paths, and better public transportation initiatives.
Today, we've found out that Montreal is a finalist for the Smart Cities Challenge that will potentially bring an influx of smart, savvy, and digital development initiatives for public transportation in the upcoming years!
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TL;DR Montreal is officially a finalist for the Smart Cities Challenge which can finally bring new and improved public transport initiatives to the city. Chief among these is the announcement of a potential all-in-one transit service.
What's super exciting about this potential win for the city is all the new public transport ideas that have been generated by both locals and Smart City Challenge organizers.
At the Smart City Expo, Montrealers were presented with many ideas such as installing a gondola network for downtown and improved car sharing programs.
@stminfoEven more exciting is the potential of a brand-new all-in-one transit app that will combine OPUS, train tickets, BIXI passes, route planning, and car-sharing services into one application.
Many cities have already implemented some form of one-stop-shop transit app, but Montreal has been behind the curve on this.
In Montreal's Smart City Challenge press release, which announced their finalist status, the city claims that their plan is "to deliver an efficient travel experience while reducing the use of single occupancy vehicles in the greater Montreal region."
This is amazing news for people who rely on public transit and public accessibility services to get around town as many Montrealers feel like they've been juggling way too many options for their transport needs.
Winners will be announced this spring! Let's hope our city will win this amazing proposal because we're SO overdue for some public transit improvements.
Watch Ville de Montreal's Youtube below or click here and here to find out more details about Montreal's Smart City Challenge initiatives.
Stay tuned!
