To remedy the budgetary crisis experienced by public transport companies, the Transit Alliance, which brings together organizations dedicated to transport and the environment, proposes to index provincial taxes on fuel and registration and to restore a balance between financing public transport and that of the road network.
A few weeks before the budget is tabled by François Legault’s government, the Transit Alliance unveiled a series of measures aimed at ensuring long-term funding for public transportation. Transportation companies need predictability, said Sarah V. Doyon, general director of Trajectoire Québec, recalling the difficult negotiations conducted last fall between cities and the Quebec government. “We must not relive this psychodrama year after year,” she said. “It is absolutely necessary, from the next budget, to confirm the sums for the coming years, to allow municipalities and transport companies to develop the service offering. »
In the short term, the Transit Alliance suggests increasing carbon market revenues intended for public transport – which were reduced to 25% by decree in 2022 – in order to reach a share of 50%, which would be equivalent to 280 million. Quebec could also index contributions linked to the registration tax, introduced in 1992 and which has never been indexed, points out Samuel Pagé-Plouffe, coordinator of the Transit Alliance. The government could also increase taxes on fuel, which have not increased since 2013. These two measures, added to that on carbon revenues, represent nearly 700 million. “We are exceeding the deficits observed for public transport,” argued Mr. Pagé-Plouffe.
In the longer term, Quebec should rebalance investments intended for the road network and public transportation. Currently, the investments planned in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI) favor the road network in a proportion of 70%, compared to 30% for public transport, underlines Samuel Pagé-Plouffe.
Overall, all of the measures proposed by the Transit Alliance could guarantee annual revenues of nearly a billion dollars for public transit, maintains the Transit Alliance. “We don’t arrive with requests for money. We come up with financing solutions,” argued Florence Junca-Adenot, associate professor in the Department of Urban Studies at UQAM.
The example of Vancouver
The Transit Alliance wanted to know if there were inspiring models elsewhere in the country to better finance public transportation. Florence Junca-Adenot cited the case of the Vancouver metropolitan region which, despite the pandemic, recorded surpluses without having to reduce its public transport services. She achieved this by diversifying her income. The greater Vancouver region benefits from a fuel tax of 18.5¢/litre, while in the Montreal region, this share reaches 3¢/litre, explained Ms. Junca-Adenot. “It’s weird, but people in Vancouver didn’t complain that much. They absorbed and assumed [cette taxe] because it made it possible to develop public transport services,” she commented.
The Vancouver region also has a real estate division which allows it to encourage construction on the sites of metro and train stations. This measure ensures recurring revenues that can be reinvested in public transportation and allows it to increase ridership in its network. However, in Quebec, transport companies do not have such powers. Last fall, the Canadian Urban Transportation Association made this measure a recommendation to be applied across the country, said Ms. Junca-Adenot.
The professor believes that Quebec would only have to modify its law on transport companies to remedy this. “It’s not complicated. The government spends its time making laws at the moment. It’s a small change that would be good for everyone,” she says. “If these measures apply in British Columbia, why would they not apply in Quebec? »