<aside> ℹ️ Team Members: Audrey Dessureault, Prasith Wijeweera, Nicholas Grzelak, Kaifan Zheng
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While the City of Montreal has signed a declaration to revitalize Montreal-Est (Government of Québec, 2018), a key challenge has been urban mobility in this low-income area (Guilbault, 2017). Montreal-Est residents have been confronted with substantial mobility issues most notably due to a lack of access to collective transportation and chronic congestion affecting employment (Government of Québec, 2018). As a result of the lack of mobility options, Montreal-Est residents must be more dependent on cars which account for around 25% of their income (Lavin, 2023; Statistics Canada, 2016). Mobility growth will allow Montreal-Est residents to be better connected to employers, education and greenspaces. This will reduce transportation costs and lessen the inequalities faced by this community. Other relevant stakeholders include The Societé de transport de Montréal (STM) and the Montreal Metropolitan Transportation Agency (ARTM), which are heavily involved in tackling the mobility issue.
Run by the STM in partnership with Pantonium, an on-demand transit software provider, Est-XPRESS is an on-demand mobility solution for Montreal-Est that resolves the gaps in the current mobility options for Montreal-Est residents. It would start as a 12-month pilot project to increase user experience through surveys before being expanded further. Users would request a pick-up from their location and select a drop-off point anywhere within Montreal-Est. A minibus carrying other passengers would then be directed to the most optimal route for pick-ups and drop-offs. Residents would get to where they needed to go at anytime, reliably, without physical effort. Transit providers would be happy with the complimentary nature this solution would have to other mobility options such as the train or bus by allowing more residents to reach these hubs more efficiently. Finally, reducing carbon emissions would help the municipality achieve its climate goals.
To determine the cost estimates and economic feasibility of this project, the team used historical data from similar projects. We also assumed a baseline fare model in the solution. By working with relevant stakeholders, we plan to develop a Montreal-Est specific solution with more accurate costs to address the needs of the community. Another assumption is that this solution will be viable for this community. Through multiple surveys and the pilot project, the solution can be tailored to fit in line with the needs of the end users. Finally, both Anglophone and Francophone consultation and calibration will be needed when working with the STM and Pantonium. We assume that both parties would be fully cooperative. However, work may be needed to build more of a relationship between the two organizations.
Montreal-Est Background
Based on the 2021 Census, the population of Montreal-Est sits at 4,394 residents (Montreal-Est, 2022) spanning 12.5 km^2 of land. Montreal-Est is known to have the highest concentration of refineries and other industries (NextHome, 2023). There is a small residential community, however, this community has stayed fairly small due to the smoky and heavy air (NextHome, 2023). Most recently, many industries have shut-down (Ville de Montreal, 2021). There are some families living in the southeastern part of town, but the majority of the residents currently residing in Montreal-Est are middle-aged and work in the surrounding industries and refineries (NextHome, 2023). Because of this, Montreal-Est is a very appealing area to revitalize. So much so, that the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal signed a declaration to revitalize Montreal-Est in December 2018. The major topics part of this revitalization is increasing mobility, economic development, decontamination of the soil, and improving the living environments of the residents. There is a lot of opportunity to create a better residential environment by using the space that was previously used by industries and developing the community.
Currently, the closest subway stop to Montreal-Est is the Honoré-Beaugrand stop on the green line, which is 5.5 km away from the Montreal-Est community (STM, 2023). There are various bus stops and services in Montreal-Est, however, they have been said to be extremely unreliable (Blumgart, 2021). Montreal-Est is also considered a low-income community (Guilbault, 2017). Due to being far from the downtown core of Montreal, where a lot of additional employment opportunities are present, the Montreal-Est industries closing down, and in combination with a lack of mobility, residents living in this area have below average salaries (Guilbault, 2017).
The Problem