Public transport | Elected officials from the northern crown in search of predictability

“Stable and predictable funding”: this is what municipal officials in the northern suburbs expect from Quebec, who deplore the uncertainty looming over public transportation in the region.

Meeting in a special session, the Table of Prefects and Elected Officials of the Northern Crown (TPÉCN) unanimously adopted a resolution demanding that the Quebec government take “concrete actions to improve public transportation.”

An improvement that has been requested for a long time and that must be achieved, according to elected officials, by resolving the operational deficit of the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) and by providing greater predictability in terms of funding. The TPÉCN believes that the current situation – where uncertainty prevails – “poses a major obstacle to achieving mobility planning objectives.” Furthermore, the TPÉCN wants Quebec to “review the governance of public transportation.”

Denis Martin, Mayor of Deux-Montagnes and Chair of the Table, believes that these requests would allow municipalities in the northern crown to align with Quebec’s ambitions. “In a context where new government directions in terms of land use require increased densification of urbanized areas, the development of public transit services throughout the northern crown territory is becoming more crucial than ever,” he argues.

“For future generations”

As symptoms of the uncertainty, elected officials give the example of the fact that the ARTM’s Public Transportation Development Plan has still not received Quebec’s approval. They also criticize the Legault government for delaying in guaranteeing stable funding beyond 2025.

In its resolution, the Table also regrets that the public transportation offer on the northern shore is below its financial contribution and its demographic weight in the Montreal Metropolitan Community. At the same time, it insists on the urgency of taking action: “Public transportation issues must be resolved now for future generations.”

Finally, the municipalities grouped in the TPÉCN assure that they plan to consult the population “on the future of public transport on [son] territory “.