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Transport Action Canada board member Christopher Graper made a journey this summer from Toronto to Les Îles de la Madelaine by train, bus and ferry. Despite their remote location in the Gulf of Saint-Lawrence, Les Îles de la Madeleine are accessed fairly easily and inexpensively by public transport.
Like all public transport in Canada, it requires planning and patience because services are not integrated and timetables do not connect. However, those willing to endure its intricate challenges are rewarded with a vastly more relaxing, pleasant, beautiful and often more economical mode of travel.
Charlottetown ends up being a good ‘base camp’ for a public transport journey to the islands. Connections to Charlottetown can be made from VIA Rail‘s Montreal to Halifax service (The Ocean), which connects with Maritime Bus services at Campbelltown, Moncton, Sackville, Amherst, Truro and Halifax. Regrettably, same day connections are possible but not advisable due to occasionally significant train delays. Therefore, an overnight stay is recommended before continuing on the bus. This can be both a limitation and an opportunity, depending upon your circumstances. I was grateful for the ability to see a good friend in the beautiful university community of Sackville, NB before continuing on to PEI.
Marine Atlantic is to be commended for offering regular services throughout the Maritimes, with good connections within its system. Their website is easy to understand and bookings are easily made. Buses are clean, well-maintained and service is friendly.
Once in Charlottetown, PEI’s T3 Transit offers robust transit services within the city, as well as recently developed rural service which connects all corners of the island for just $2. Their website is easily understandable to those from outside the region, and tickets can be booked in advance which allows for a greater peace of mind when traveling far from home in rural areas.
To get to Les îles, travelers must get to the small community of Souris, PEI to connect with the CTMA Ferry service to Cap-aux-Meules, Québec.
On weekdays, T3 offers three departures per day which can conveniently get you direct to the CTMA Ferry Terminal at Souris. Regrettably there is no bus service on weekends.
CTMA offers daily service in summer, with less frequent departures through the rest of the year. The sailing takes roughly four hours, cabins are available as well as dining, café and bar services. Crossing as a pedestrian or with a bicycle are extremely reasonable compared to traveling with a vehicle.
Once on the islands, cyclists willing to face the strong winds will find it easy to get anywhere. The road ahead becomes much more challenging for pedestrians, with few sidewalks beyond Cap-aux-Meules. There are very few taxis on the islands, and no rideshare services.
The Régie intermunicipale de transport Gaspésie Îles-de-la-Madeleine (RÉGÎM) has introduced an expansive network with regular daily service connecting all parts of the islands. This initiative is to be commended in a general sense, however the execution of the service leaves much to be desired, especially for tourists and those unfamiliar with the area.
The RÉGÎM website makes a strong effort to convey the schedules and routes. However, even with my own significant work experience in transport scheduling and fluency in French, the full possibilities of the existing schedules were never successfully conveyed.
It is currently possible, for example, to make a day trip to tourist areas of Havre Aubert and Grand Entrée. It is also possible, perhaps on days when the weather is poor, to make a sort of tour of the islands by connecting different routes, affording an unmatched view of the spectacular scenery and the less touristy parts of the islands.
On one Saturday, there were six departures that stopped at the hotel where I was staying, but that convenient reality was never successfully communicated online or in print, even after consulting printed schedules in the Tourist Information Centre. There was also no bus departure information at the airport, despite regular services throughout the day.
The situation could be improved by an integrated map and timetables, detailing departure times at pickup points instead focusing on individual routes.
Despite these notes for improvement, the RÉGÎM has made very strong steps to creating an inexpensive and ecologically sound alternative to driving on the islands, which can be surprisingly congested during peak tourist season.
For further information about traveling to the islands see: https://www.tourismeilesdelamadeleine.com/en