Montreal seniors on the move thanks to free bike-taxi program in RDP-PAT

It may be slower than the average car, and it only seats up to two passengers, but the three-wheeled taxi has a fan in 71-year-old Miquolina Fonte, who says she "adores" riding in the rickshaw. 

Maxime Houde, 19, who has been supplying the leg power, looks on, smiling.

The rickshaw is at the centre of a summer program in Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles (RDP-PAT) that's been running since 2016, called Aînés actifs à vélo. It aims to get seniors out of the house and foster intergenerational relationships between them and their young chauffeurs. 

For Fonte, who has limited mobility and needs a walker, the service is welcome. Her rides around town are a big change from the life she was living during the pandemic, when she rarely went outside. 

Fonte took the rickshaw to Montreal's André-Corbeil-Dit-Tranchemontagne park on Wednesday, a sunny 24 C day.

Her chauffeur says he can tell he's making a difference, whether it's by bringing a senior to the grocery store, or by taking them around the city and cheering them up. 

Houde, who recently graduated from CEGEP, says he's learning a lot through conversations with his passengers — about history and perspectives that he wouldn't normally encounter in the classroom. 

"It's fun to see this clash between ideas, new ideology versus old ideology," he said.

Itoya-Noémie Omotuenmhen is the co-ordinator of the Pointe-de-l'Île branch of the Association Québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées (AQDR), the organization that runs Aînés actifs à vélo. For her, the intergenerational relationships that form between seniors and their chauffeurs are crucial. 

"It makes me feel very good for the future to know that younger people think about older people," she said. "We have a planet where people are getting older and older, so it's important to take care of them."

As of July 1, public transit is free for Montreal residents over 65, but the bike-taxi service still offers a unique advantage: it takes seniors directly from their front door to their destination, so they don't have to walk to and from a bus or Metro stop. 

The project currently has a limited scope, though. The bike-taxi service runs 35 hours a week and only operates within RDP-PAT. Houde is the only chauffeur in Rivière-des-Prairies. Both chauffeurs in Pointe-aux-Trembles, who are also students, are Houde's siblings. All chauffeurs must be at least 18 and have driver's licence. 

Houde bikes all across his assigned neighbourhood, but he says it's not too tiring, since the rickshaws are partly powered by electricity. 

"It's like I was biking for myself," he said, "but there's two people in the back of the bicycle."

Either way, he wouldn't want another summer job. 

"It's clearly better than work when I cannot talk to people," he said. "Now I'm paid for talking to people, taking care of people."

When the time comes for Fonte to leave the park, Houde is there to support her back and help her mount two steps onto the rickshaw. It takes a few tries, but soon Fonte is onboard, rolling down Gouin Boulevard. 

She can go anywhere in Rivière-des-Prairies, and she can continue to do so all summer long.