October 19, 2022 - Following recent expansions, historic Québec City is full of ‘joie de vivre’ for cycling and will soon unveil its Cycling Plan for 2023-2027.

The city currently boasts a network of 388km that includes 143km of separated bike lanes (36.9%), 180km of bike lanes (46.4%) and 65km of marked/shared routes (16.7%).

Since the implementation of its “Vision des déplacements à vélo” for 2016-2020, the city has developed or upgraded nearly 89 cycling kilometres, which represents a total investment of approximately $25 million.

Other notable achievements include a 94.6% increase in bicycle traffic along Rue du Colisée thanks to new developments; in the borough of La Cité-Limoilou, at least 1 in 20 residents now use their bicycle to get to work or school every day; some 60 new bike racks have been installed near the network; on weekdays, approximately 22,000 bicycle trips are made by Québec City residents.

Since last year, the city can now boast a bike share àVélo program with 40 stations and 400 electric power-assisted bikes for short trips. The program is operated by the public transit service RTC (Réseau de transport de la Capitale).

While Québec City has no subway system, it operates Velobus, offering two bicycle racks per bus (no e-bikes), on five high-frequency bus lines (Métrobus 800, 801, 802, 804 and 807) between early May and late October. 

The Québec-Lévis Ferry welcomes cyclists to discover and explore the other shore across the St. Lawrence River, and either shore of this ferry crossing leads to superb sections of the renowned Route Verte. There are also a number of bike rental companies, and other businesses that offer guided bicycle tours in Old Québec. 

Québec City also boasts many cycling touring options, including the 50-kilometre Corridor du Littoral shoreline trail up to Montmorency Falls and the 55-kilometre Marie-Hélène-Prémont Bike Path that connects with Mont-Ste-Anne.  

For more experienced cyclists, a trip around Île d’Orléans is another exciting opportunity. An interactive map offers additional options that utilize Route Verte’s vast network of 4,000 kilometres of bike paths.

Québec City’s cycling agenda also coincides with the province’s Active Transportation Intervention Framework, a key component of its Sustainable Mobility Policy vision to be a North American leader in 21st-century sustainable and integrated mobility by 2030.