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34-760: In the 1990s, the STO and the Communauté Urbaine de l'Outaouais had initiated plans to improve public transit in the Outaouais urban community as traffic problems were growing in several areas particularly in the eastern end of the city in the Quebec Autoroute 50 corridor as well as other bridges spanning the Gatineau and Ottawa Rivers . At that time, the CUO privileged existent railway corridors including

68-560: A 90-series route linking the Montcalm Station to Orléans thus adding a connection between OC Transpo and Gatineau's rapid transit system. The new system went active on October 19, 2013. Problems were reported. In the first three weeks, four collisions with vehicles occurred along the corridor, all of them caused by motorists running red lights. Some customers complained that their new commute times increased by as much as 35 min per day though travel times to other areas including

102-516: A project in the region. Bureau and Poirier added that it will encourage several projects along the busway including new work locations as well as housing while reducing significantly greenhouse emissions and increase by 15 to 25% the ridership. Several projects are already located, are under construction or planned. The main features that will be served by the system will include, the largest shopping centre in Gatineau, Les Promenades de l'Outaouais ,

136-514: A whole. This decrease is explained by the improvement in employment. The Outaouais' industrial structure matches its mission, which is concentrated on government services. As a result, the economy is heavily geared towards the service sector. In 2021, the primary sector in the Outaouais accounted for a lower proportion of jobs than the primary sector in Quebec as a whole (1.4% vs. 2.2%). Also,

170-477: Is positive. Yet, for the first time in 20 years, the area had negative net migration in 2020-2021. Historically, the Outaouais area averaged positive inter-regional migration balances, gaining 541 residents each year for a net rate of +0.14% from 2016 to 2021. Interregional migration rate In 2021, the situation on the Outaouais labour market has improved. Employment increased by 9,500 positions. The participation rate increased to 63.7%. The negative gap between

204-522: Is similar to the Ottawa transitway . As with the Transitway, it is reserved for high occupancy articulated buses and other STO vehicles including Para-Transit service, inspectors and emergency vehicles. The busway (which will most likely be converted to light rail some time after the year 2031) currently begins in the east-end of the city in the vicinity of Labrosse and Saint-René Boulevards and follows

238-590: The Canadian Pacific line in Hull and Gatineau for a future rapid transit corridor which would by-pass some the most congested areas of the city. Plans were also made for improved inter-provincial crossing to Ottawa. Before newer studies were made, several new bus lanes were added on Boulevards Gréber , Fournier , Maisonneuve and Alexandre-Taché as well as the Portage Bridge in order to speed up

272-515: The Casino du Lac Leamy and nearby government offices and shopping centres as well as the CEGEP de l'Outaouais (Hull) decreased. Some commuters protested to express frustration. Outaouais (region) Outaouais ( / uː t ə w eɪ / , French pronunciation: [utawɛ] ; also commonly called The Outaouais ) is a region of western Quebec , Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau ,

306-621: The Cégep de l'Outaouais (Gatineau campus), Les Galeries de Hull shopping centre, the Casino du Lac-Leamy , the Maison de la Culture, A new power centre which includes a new Wal-Mart mega-store (the largest in Quebec) as well several big-box stores near the De la Gappe station location while near De la Cité Station, a large sports complex has been approved and slated for completion by 2009. Meanwhile, in

340-712: The Gatineau River . In the 2000s, the City of Ottawa had examined plans to extend its O-Train light rail network towards Gatineau from Bayview station where it would connected to the existing segment. The train would have used the Prince of Wales Bridge and end at the Casino du-Lac Leamy while providing service to the Université du Québec en Outaouais which also has expansion plans in the upcoming years. In 2007, following

374-500: The Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Railway from La Carrière Boulevard to Freeman Road. The total length of the completed busway will be approximately 17 kilometers and the current price tag of the project is estimated at around $ 195 million. There are 12 Rapibus stations on the system's main segment, including two which opened on August 28, 2023. The Taché-UQO station was initially not included in these plans, but it

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408-616: The Quebec Gatineau Railway track (alongside boulevards Maloney and de la Carrière) towards downtown Hull . A bridge over the Gatineau River was expanded to accommodate the rapid transit lane as well as bike trails alongside near Lake Leamy. As the project was announced, the City mentioned that the Rapibus will transformed significantly the City while Bureau added it was the government's biggest contribution for

442-418: The provincial elections . Quebec Premier Jean Charest later promised during the electoral campaign that the project will be completed for 2010 while pledging $ 75 million for the project. While awaiting government funding, the STO led by president and Gatineau councillor Louise Poirier launched in late-February 2007 a radio and television campaign promotion about the project to help attract more support from

476-405: The Casino and also near Lake Beauchamp Park in the east end of the city. Construction was set to start in late 2008 or early 2009 with the completion expected by fall 2010; however, it was delayed by a year. Construction of the Rapibus began in late 2009, with completion set for 2013. Groundbreaking on the project occurred on November 30, 2009, at the site of the future Montcalm Station. The Rapibus

510-654: The City of Gatineau and the Quebec government in order to strike a deal for the amount of funding for the project. Some members of the Gatineau City Council , Mayor Bureau, STO administration staff and Cabinet Ministers of the Quebec provincial government including former Finance Minister Michel Audet and Transport Minister Michel Després along with Treasury Board President Monique Jérôme-Forget met in Quebec City on December 6, 2006, to discuss about

544-635: The Gatineau and Hull sectors as well as all the Rapibus. The City of Gatineau, including mayor Bureau had stated that it would concentrate first on developing the bus network before considering adding rail service in the long range. The Rapibus project went ahead without a direct bridge link towards Ottawa although environmental assessments for the Prince of Wales Bridge were made possible as part of plans related to interprovincial bridge crossings which will examine possible futures links between Gatineau and Ottawa. A study for an interprovincial transit bridge crossing

578-590: The Hull sector, the Université du Québec en Outaouais is planning to merge both of its Hull campuses and will be expanded further east to near the Rapibus terminus on Saint-Joseph Boulevard with the addition of several buildings for the faculties located outside the Alexandre-Taché campus (mainly the faculties at the Lucien-Brault campus located just a few blocks to the north). When fully completed,

612-445: The cancellation of the north-south light rail expansion to downtown and Barrhaven Centre , a Transportation Task Force Committee led by former Liberal minister David Collenette examined the future of public transit in the region and had proposed a rail line from Bayview to Wakefield via the Casino (where a second line would end) with another line going from downtown Gatineau to Masson-Angers that will follow both existing railways in

646-445: The city of Gatineau will fund the remainder of the costs ($ 49 million), while there are no direct federal government funding for the project. The initial proposed date for the inauguration of the Rapibus system was 2007; however, it was pushed back for 2010 because of various issues that slowed the process. Multiple environmental assessments were made, as portions of the route would pass through greenspace areas such as Lake Leamy park near

680-468: The current city of Gatineau . For the next few years, the Outaouais is predicted to enjoy continuous demographic increase. From 2021 to 2026, the region's population is predicted to expand faster than the rest of Quebec (+4.8% against +4.2%). Longer-term projections show that the region's population will expand faster than Quebec's for each following five-year period. Year after year, the Outaouais' net migration (inflows minus outflows) with other areas

714-560: The deal and how much each level will spend. Following the meeting, Bureau indicated some optimism about a future deal that would guarantee a $ 150 million funding by the government. However, the Minister responsible for the Outaouais region Benoît Pelletier told reporters in February 2007 that it would be difficult to realize the project in a short period and no funding was announced in the 2007 Quebec budget on February 20, 2007, prior to

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748-634: The east of the Lorrain terminus. On December 9, 2007, Gatineau Councillor Alain Riel told Le Droit that the Rapibus should be extended westward towards Aylmer along the Boulevard des Allumettières corridor until Boulevard Saint-Raymond citing concerns that residents living in nearby Le Plateau and newer communities in Aylmer near the new road will abandon public transit for car usage. He also did not rule out

782-538: The introduction of a former proposed transit corridor called Via-Bus that was intended to run along a former defunct railway corridor south of Chemin d'Aylmer to downtown Hull but was abandoned due to fierce opposition by residents of Val-Tétrault in the Hull sector. The former railway corridor has since been replaced by an NCC bikeway connecting the Aylmer Marina to the Lady Aberdeen Bridge at

816-606: The local residents. After the provincial elections, the Charest government tabled a second budget which included significant funding for the project which passed the National Assembly on June 1, 2007. An official announcement was made on October 26, 2007 during a press conference with Poirier, Pelletier, new Quebec Transport Minister Julie Boulet and federal Transport minister and former STO president Lawrence Cannon . The Quebec government would invest $ 146 million while

850-585: The main segment of the line will run from the Lorrain Boulevard area in the Gatineau sector and along the CFQG line to near the intersection of Alexandre-Taché and Saint-Joseph Boulevards behind the Salaberry Armoury and just east the Université du Québec en Outaouais. Initial plans had the line terminate near Montcalm Street and Quebec Autoroute 50. A second segment will run along portions

884-404: The manufacturing sector employed fewer people than the rest of Quebec (4.0% vs. 11.3%). Nonetheless, the construction sector employed more people in the Outaouais (8.4%) than in Quebec overall (6.7%). The region's economy is dominated by tertiarization . The tertiary sector's percentage of total employment (86.1%) is substantially larger than that reported in Quebec overall (79.7%). This finding

918-532: The municipality of Val-des-Monts , the municipality of Cantley and the Papineau region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the Ottawa River opposite Canada's capital, Ottawa . It has a land area of 30,457.52 square kilometres (11,759.71 sq mi) and its population was 405,158 inhabitants as of 2021. From 2017 to 2021, the Outaouais has a lower per capita disposable income than

952-506: The region is Hull (now a neighbourhood of Gatineau) which was founded in 1800 by Philemon Wright as Wright's Town. The settlement quickly became involved in the lumber trade, which continued along the Ottawa River until the late 20th century. None of the original town buildings remain today, as they were destroyed in the 1900 Hull–Ottawa fire . Hull remained a city until 2002, when it was merged with several neighboring cities to form

986-450: The region's participation rate and that of Quebec narrowed from 1.0 to 0.4 percentage points. The employment rate increased to 60.2% in the region. The region now has an employment rate comparable to that of Quebec (60.1%). Since 1999, the Outaouais has generally had a lower unemployment rate than Quebec as a whole. In 2021, this trend continued; the unemployment rate decreased by 2.5 percentage points to 5.6%, compared to 6.1% for Quebec as

1020-600: The rest of Quebec. It was $ 32,364 in 2021, compared to $ 34,180 in Quebec overall. In 2021, the unfavourable margin remained stable at 5.3%. The name of the region comes from the French name for the Ottawa River, which in turn comes from the French name for the Indigenous Odawa that lived near the region. Prior to European arrival in the region, the areas along the Ottawa River were commonly used by various tribes to trade and gather. The oldest European settlement in

1054-469: The service in the late 1990s and 2000s. Environmental assessments began in the 2000s but government funding was not immediately available by both the federal and provincial levels. It was in 2005 that the project started evolving faster as Marc Bureau , defeated Yves Ducharme for mayor of Gatineau in the municipal elections. During his campaign, Bureau listed the Rapibus system as one of his top priorities. A few months after his election win, talks between

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1088-461: The top priorities by Ottawa City Council and mayor Larry O'Brien . That possibility was again mentioned when new corridors for potential bridges were added. According to the city of Ottawa, there was an increase of 25% of people heading from Gatineau to Ottawa over the past 10 years. In a previous transit expansion plan, slated to be fully implemented by the completion of the original north-south light rail expansion in 2009, OC Transpo planned to add

1122-446: Was canceled in February 2007 in the fallout of the cancellation of the light-rail expansion project. However, later in the year the city of Ottawa resurfaced the possibility of a new Environmental study in the summer of 2007, for inter-provincial links and connections with the Rapibus as part of several recommendations made and funding requests towards higher levels of government for future transportation infrastructures. These projects were

1156-461: Was later added prior to opening, with two Rapibus routes serving it. Several stations will be accommodated by park and ride facilities. The STO is considering a westward extension of the Rapibus to the Aylmer sector, as well as a link to Ottawa near Tunney's Pasture . For eastward transit, the STO is considering the du Cheval-Blanc and de l'Aéroport stations, which are currently under study, to

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