The Parti Québécois Is Calling For A $1/Day Transit Pass That Works Everywhere In Quebec

Political parties have begun dropping flashy policy proposals as the 2022 Quebec election nears. Today it's the Parti Québécois (PQ) that's attracted our attention with a plan to create a $1/day (or $365/year) transit pass that would work for all modes of transit everywhere in the province.

Such a tranist pass would eliminate the universal frustration of figuring out the cost of travel among the multitude of public transit service providers in the Montreal area. It would also effectively do away with the extra cost for a trip between Montreal, Laval and Longueuil. And Montrealers taking a weekend trip to Quebec City would no longer need to buy days-long RTC passes.

The party is calling it the "PasseClimat." In an August 22 news release, the PQ said the measure is "necessary" to carry out a meaningful transition to a green economy.

Party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and PQ candidates Jeanne Robin (Taschereau) and Pierre Nantel (Marie-Victorin) say the pass would address several issues all at once: simplifying urban and regional travel while reducing the number of cars on the road and spurring the economy.

The goal, according to St-Pierre Plamondon, is to make transit more convenient than other forms of transportation. "Our vision," he said in a statement, "is to make public transportation attractive, even irresistible, to Quebecers in all regions. We will make public transit the logical option."

Absent from the August 2022 announcement is a mention of how to pay for the PasseClimat. But that could be forthcoming with the party's complete platform.