Experts, organizations and citizens remain “skeptical” about the quality of service provided in the metro and buses in the short term, after the reduction in spending announced by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). Mayor Valérie Plante stands behind the operator and ensures that the frequency of service will be “absolutely not” affected.
“We hope that the service will not be affected. We want to believe it, but of course we are currently skeptical,” admits Sarah V. Doyon, executive director of Trajectoire Québec, an organization that defends the rights of public transit users. In the last few days, citizens have also expressed their doubts on social networks.
On Tuesday, the STM announced cuts of around 18 million this year to reduce its shortfall from 78 million to 60 million. The main cuts will affect internal practices: reorganization of schedules, reduction of overtime, postponement of communication campaigns or even training programs.
“With the same resources, we want to do better,” summed up the chairman of the board, Eric Alan Caldwell, promising that the level of service would remain unchanged. Mayor Plante also assured Wednesday that the cuts would “absolutely not” affect the quality and frequency of service. However, she reiterated the urgency of finding a “short-term solution” to the funding crisis.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
“There must be a short-term solution regarding the STM’s deficit, which is directly linked to the drop in attendance due to the pandemic. It is not related to reasons of mismanagement or choice. What Montreal is going through, all the other transport companies are also going through,” recalled Ms.me Plant.
“We need the government to tell us that it believes in it, [au] public transit,” she persisted.
Implications for the metro… and maintenance
In response to questions about the positions affected by this reorganization, the transport company clarified by email that “the reduction [des heures] additional[s] mainly involves optimizing travel support activities, carried out by metro operating personnel”.
“As metro ridership forecasts fluctuate between 70 and 80% for 2023, the prioritization of this type of activity has been revised, since the objective is to promote the fluidity of travel in a context of high traffic. As for the overhaul of the schedules, this measure concerns in particular the sanitary maintenance workers, in compliance with the conditions of the agreements, ”says spokesperson Renaud Martel-Théorêt.
Regardless of the positions affected, it will ultimately and above all be necessary to “ensure that the user experience continues to be interesting”, reminds Ms.me Doyon on this. “If we cut maintenance and that gives buses or metros much less clean in the end, it will not be at all attractive for users,” thinks the manager.
When we postpone a communication campaign, we understand that it does not affect the service. But when we reorganize the schedules, we reduce [les heures supplémentaires]how does it not affect the service?
Sarah V. Doyon, Executive Director of Trajectory Quebec
“We regret that the STM and the other transit companies have to make cuts, in a financial context in which they have no choice but to evolve. It takes predictability to respond to uncertainty. With the consultations in March, and the provincial budget, we hope to have good news, ”says Ms.me Doyon.
“We arrive on the bone”
According to Jean-Philippe Meloche, professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Montreal, the risk of having to reduce service is very present. “It is sure that if it is persistent, it will end up having an impact. And in my opinion, it will be persistent. There is always some fat in budgets, but once you have removed one layer and another, eventually, you get to the bone,” he illustrates.
The more time progresses, “the more postponement of investments will no longer be sufficient to rebalance finances in public transport”, believes Mr. Meloche, calling for a “much deeper” reflection.
Transportation planning expert and lecturer Pierre Barrieau also agrees. “It’s like pushing the problems to a later date, hoping for the best. Maybe in a few months, the government will announce additional funding, but in the meantime, the cuts are still quite worrying, ”said the specialist.
“You really have to make sure that the plan to catch up next year is robust. Under no circumstances should we go back to the cycle of maintenance delays of the 1980s-1990s, which took years and years to resume. It can undermine the long-term recovery,” concludes Mr. Barrieau.