With a budget of $3 billion, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) will indeed be able to meet “100% of the needs” in the short term for public transport in Greater Montreal. But for the rest, the operators will for the moment have to content themselves with partial responses to their requests. Five point analysis.
Who will have what?
Of the 3.03 billion budgeted by the ARTM, the remuneration of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) will be 1.6 billion, an increase of 7.1% for services and infrastructures compared to 2022. Exo will have approximately 469.3 million (+6%), while the Longueuil transport network (RTL) will receive 184.1 million (+4.9%). In the north, the Société de transport de Laval (STL) will receive 173 million (+5.4%). The ARTM thus estimates that it meets the needs to maintain the assets in place, but recognizes that for the “additional requests” of operators for additional services, which totaled 95.8 million in 2023, it will only be able to provide 39.4 million. The level of service will therefore remain unchanged or almost unchanged in 2023.
“Optimise” spending
One observation seems clear from the outset: it will be necessary to continue “to optimize expenditure” and “to pool forces”, affirms the CEO of the Authority, Benoit Gendron. In March, his group notably proposed the creation of “high-frequency metropolitan axes” to save costs. “We are aiming for the month of September to deliver the feasibility of each avenue for savings. For the rest, each operator already has a reduction objective that has been given to him, and which is fair,” says Mr. Gendron. An action plan to fund public transit over five years is also expected this fall, after consultations conducted by the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault.
Still great needs
Despite government aid of 340 million which was “vital” to balance its budget, the ARTM will still suffer a shortfall of 500 to 600 million in the medium term. The organization estimates the needs at “about 3.5 billion” in the next five years. “The government currently contributes approximately 48% of overall public transit spending in Greater Montreal, and its intention is to return to approximately 35 or 36%. It illustrates the need to find new sources of funding,” explains Benoit Gendron. From the outset, one track is excluded: unreasonably increasing the rates for users, “whom we first want to bring back to public transport”.
What about projected revenues?
By the end of 2023, public transit should generate just over $777 million in Greater Montreal. Without the pandemic, that figure would have been 1.04 billion. This is still a marked increase compared to recent years, marked by health measures and high rates of prolonged absence in the metro. The registration tax, which will extend to 450 from January 2024, should bring in at least 125 million annually to the ARTM. “It is certain that it is significant, it will come to help us. It is this kind of lever that we must continue to multiply in the coming years,” concludes the CEO.
The impact of REM
The arrival of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) could help the industry boost traffic. Between September and April, the pre-pandemic ridership threshold was 71% on average, but by the end of 2023, the ARTM hopes it will be between 75% and 80%. One factor remains unknown: REM attendance. “If it’s weak, it will cost us less, but if it’s strong, we will inevitably have a slightly larger residual deficit. This is the only factor that can change; the rest is already provided for in our budget,” explains Mr. Gendron. For 2023, it sets the cost per kilometer and per passenger of the REM at around 75.3 cents.