Faced with a costly drop in ridership, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) will continue to offer declining service on its metro and bus networks in 2022.
The organization unveiled the information without fanfare, in an annual budget unveiled at the same time as that of the City of Montreal.
“The STM has revised downwards its service offering for the bus and metro sectors for 2022,” states the STM in the document. “The adjustment of -3.5% for the bus sector and -5% for the metro sector compared to the budgeted offer in 2019 will allow the STM to reduce its expenses by 21.3 million in 2022 compared to the budget. 2021. ”
According to the organization, the level of service that will be offered in 2022 is “comparable” to that of 2021.
At the source of this decision: the drop in the number of users since the start of the pandemic. This fall, the STM said it was moving only half of Montrealers it was moving before the pandemic.
In an interview, the new chairman of the board of directors of the STM argued that the return of passengers to the network is “progressing much more slowly” than expected, which makes it possible to reduce the offer without having a major impact on customers.
“It’s a few fewer departures where it doesn’t hurt,” said Eric Allan Caldwell in a telephone interview with The Press. “The STM is well aware of the needs of its customers, knows its ridership well. It was really surgical adjustments that were made, especially through the management of overtime. ”
Despite the decline in service, there remains a budget hole of 43 million dug in the budget. The STM identifies it as a “shortfall that will have to come from new sources of revenue to be identified during the year 2022”.
The STM complains that it does not receive enough money from the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), responsible for coordinating public transport players in Greater Montreal. Its contribution “does not cover the normal evolution of operating expenses despite the adjustment of the level of service”.
Mr. Caldwell says closing this shortfall will be “a challenge”, but is confident that a solution will be found.
The STM has a budget of 1.6 billion in 2022, up 3%.