On the sidelines of the presentation of the Plante-Ollivier administration’s budget, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) also unveiled its forecasts for 2023 this week. They do not announce anything worthwhile for the years to come. The deficit will continue to grow without urgent financing reform.
The deficit will be $78 million in 2023, compared to $43 million last year. Many factors explain this shortfall, starting with the indexation of salaries in a context of high inflation, the decrease in attendance due to the organization of work in hybrid mode at the end of the pandemic as well as expenses deemed essential, such as the maintenance of AZUR trains.
No one could have predicted the deleterious effects of the pandemic on the STM’s finances. Even today, more than two and a half years after the first wave of COVID-19, ridership is 69% compared to pre-pandemic levels on weekdays and 79% on weekends. Given the radical transformation of our relationship to work and our way of occupying the territory, full traffic will not return any time soon. In 2023, the STM expects to regain, at best, between 75% and 80% of pre-pandemic ridership.
Financial pressure is forcing the STM to consider all sorts of initiatives, including reducing service. The unconfirmed hypothesis of a 3.7% reduction in services for the bus and 4.8% for the metro has been circulating in the media. It would be a very bad signal to send, while the increase in the modal share of public transport is imperative to reduce congestion and to reduce the carbon footprint of the car in the environmental balance sheet. If there is no hope beyond the “sardine class” and the decrease in the frequency of passage, do not think that public transport will be perceived as a valid alternative to the automobile by our fellow citizens.
The STM and its partners face the adverse winds in great solitude. In its budget, the Plante-Ollivier administration announced $30 million in support for the STM. A good part of the sum is intended to compensate for the introduction of free public transport for people aged 65 and over as of next July. This measure, which is part of the promises of Projet Montréal, will cost approximately $40 million per year. In the context, we can doubt the relevance of this initiative, which does absolutely nothing to improve the STM’s finances. If people over 65 don’t already take the metro, they’ll never get on it. The Plante-Ollivier administration should instead explore initiatives to encourage future generations to adopt public transport in their travel routine.
STM president Éric Alan Caldwell said he preferred to find solutions with his financial partners rather than reduce service. This is an avenue to consider, and quickly. The Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, advocates the diversification of sources of income. The increase in the registration tax to finance public transport as well as the introduction of a kilometric tax can be considered. The Metropolitan Community of Montreal has been thinking about it for a while, but it will need the support of Quebec to achieve it.
The Legault government does not like new taxes, we know that. It has no interest in leaving public transit in a precarious situation in a metropolis like Montreal. The sustainability of public transit funding will guarantee our collective ability to develop healthy living environments and reduce an ever-increasing carbon footprint.