The Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, calls on transport companies to tighten their belts while waiting for future financial aid. Quebec calculates that the industry’s cumulative deficit should reach $2.5 billion over the next five years.
“When we calculate the total anticipated deficits accumulated over the next five years for our ten major transport companies, we end up with a shortfall of $2.5 billion. It’s a lot of money,” the minister immediately said during a speech held Thursday at the annual conference of the Quebec Urban Transport Association (ATUQ).
The calculation that M thus makesme Guilbault is more optimistic than that of the ATUQ, which calculated last year a cumulative deficit of 3.7 billion by 2027, with a shortfall of 560 million in 2023, 650 million in 2024, 800 million in 2025 , 860 million in 2026 and 900 million in 2027.
In the minister’s office, it is argued that the government’s figure takes into account the registration tax which was increased in April throughout Greater Montreal, but also the revenue that will be generated by the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority ( ARTM) with the REM, in particular.
Nevertheless, says the elected official, the context requires us to be “realistic” and “find ways to absorb the deficit rather than widen it”, at a time when ridership is gradually returning to its pre-pandemic levels almost everywhere. in Quebec.
For several months already, the minister had warned of her intention to “rationalize” spending, while committing, however, to a five-year, recurring financing plan for the industry. Behind the scenes, it is indicated that negotiations must still take place with the Ministry of Finance to release the available sums. A two-stage scenario, with new emergency aid followed by a five-year plan itself, is therefore currently being considered.
“We especially want savings”
During his speech, which was eagerly awaited by transport companies which are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, Mr.me Guilbault reiterated that she will be “the first to push for an increased service offering.” “Different scenarios are on the table. I will make my intentions and conclusions known in the coming months,” she said cautiously.
While maintaining that she had heard the message from the 24 mayors of Greater Montreal asking for a minimum annual increase of 7% in the service offering, the minister nevertheless reiterated that “to increase this offering, […] you must first have the ability to pay.”
Remember that in its 2018-2023 version of the Sustainable Mobility Policy, the government set the target annual increase in the level of service across Quebec at 5%. However, this objective was undermined by COVID-19. It is this target that the mayors are now asking to be increased to 7%.
“We don’t just want temporary aid, we especially want savings and structural and lasting solutions,” replied M.me Guilbault, emphasizing the importance of proceeding “with respect for everyone’s limits” to arrive at “a lasting vision of the financing of transport companies”.
A “culture to change”
At a minimum, added the minister, the industry must be able to “calculate its cost to have an efficient offer and an efficient dollar invested”. “An hour of service in the suburbs does not have the same cost as in Montreal. The train versus the bus is not the same expense either,” she explained.
In his eyes, “there is a whole culture to change” in the way funds are managed in public transport. “It’s a colossal project, but achievable, as long as we work together. I know you believe it. And I believe in it too,” she told the group of transporters.
Minister Guilbault’s entourage, who completed a consultation tour with public transport stakeholders this fall, affirms that approximately 18% of the cumulative deficit of 2.5 billion, which represents nearly 450 million, is of a nature cyclical, in other words the loss of tariff revenue.
As for the structural part of the deficit, around 2 billion, this would be mainly attributable to the increase in operating expenses such as maintenance, service contracts and even salaries. These represent approximately 70% of carrier operating expenses.
“By presenting you with these figures that we collected during the summer following our consultations, my only objective is to highlight the scale of the challenge that faces us,” concluded the CAQ.
Update on ridership
In Canada, average ridership was 75% in public transit as of last July. It is in these waters that most Quebec companies are found, even if some perform better. However, the revenues of Canadian transportation companies are doing a little better: on average, they have recovered 83% of revenues compared to the pre-pandemic level.
