Operating the metro, buses and commuter trains is becoming more and more expensive in the Montreal region, while revenues are falling. For the metro, the debt has jumped 268% in five years and for buses, a gaping hole of more than 1 billion will now have to be filled, we learned The Press.
What there is to know
- Deficits are skyrocketing everywhere in public transportation.
- The metro saw its debt jump by 268% in five years.
- The buses circulating in Montreal have a deficit of more than 1 billion.
This is what we learn in an internal and confidential document that the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) presented to municipalities in recent weeks. The observation is clear: the cost of operating buses, the metro, commuter trains and the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is increasing significantly more quickly than revenues, which are declining.
In total, operators’ bills have increased by 511 million over the past five years, while revenues have decreased by 15 million. In 2019, the metropolitan public transport network cost 1908 million. Revenues at the time represented 1121 million. The operating deficit amounted to 787 million.
In 2024, the ARTM now estimates that the operating cost should rise to 2419 million while revenues should fall to 1105 million. In short, the operating deficit will increase to 1314 million. The drop in revenue is largely explained by declining ridership since COVID-19, which calls, according to many, for a diversification of sources of revenue in public transit.
A metro in the red
The Montreal metro alone currently has a deficit of approximately $120 million, according to the document. From 2019 to 2024, operating expenses increased from 416 million to 571 million (+37%) and capital expenditures increased from 89 million to 138 million (+55%).
Meanwhile, tariff revenues increased by just 18 million, from 407 million to 425 million (+4.4%). So-called “general” revenues jumped from 66 to 110 million (+66%), an increase which is however far from sufficient to absorb expenses.
In short, the total deficit went from 32 million to 120 million in five years, an increase of 268%. Currently, metro revenues barely cover 82% of costs.
According to the ARTM, the increase in the deficit in the metro is notably “due to investments in rolling stock” for the replacement of Azur trains, but also to renovation and maintenance programs as well as the associated inflationary context.
Weakened buses and trains
The situation is even less rosy on buses in Greater Montreal, i.e. in the territories of the transportation companies of Montreal, Laval and Longueuil, as well as in the areas served by exo.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The bus networks of Greater Montreal have accumulated more than 1 billion in deficits.
Together, this bus fleet accumulates more than 1 billion in deficits. While net costs increased from 1.18 billion to 1.45 billion (+22%) between 2019 and 2024, tariff revenues fell from 458 million to 358 million (-27%). General revenues increased from 19 million to 30 million.
Result: bus revenues barely cover 27% of their costs. This is significantly less than commuter trains which, with net costs of 227 million and revenues of 125 million in 2024, cover 55% of their costs.
Several factors can explain the bus situation, underlines the ARTM, including the drop in ridership in general, but especially the “transfer of part of the fare revenue from buses from the South Shore to the REM” as well as a significant increase in costs linked to paratransit, particularly in exo services, in the crowns.
The commuter train “receives less general revenue due to greater sharing between the REM and the metro,” notes the Authority in the document. Finally, the REM, for its part, currently has an overall deficit of 26 million. With total revenues of around 57 million and an overall cost of 83.4 million, CDPQ Infra’s new light rail covers around 68% of its costs.
The worried municipal world
In the municipal world, there is concern about the increase in deficits, which risk falling on cities, unless additional aid is provided from the Quebec government, which is currently holding performance audits on transport companies. In Montreal, for example, the ARTM estimates that the contribution of the agglomeration will be 683 million in 2024, up 22% compared to 2019.
On the South Shore, the agglomeration of Longueuil should release 103 million, a figure again up by around 21%, while in Laval, it would be 108 million, a jump of around 36% for the municipality of the northern suburbs.
The crowns are not left out. In the north, the contribution will increase from 52.5 million to 58 million, a jump of 10%, while in the south, we will go from 30 million to 36 million, an increase of almost 20%.
According to the president of the Table of prefects and elected officials of the South Crown, Christian Ouellette, who is also mayor of Delson, “the current situation, marked by a projected increase in costs without a concomitant increase in services, highlights the urgency to find new sources of sustainable financing to resolve the persistent problem of underfinancing public transport.”
“Given that many municipalities have limited taxation power, it becomes imperative to explore viable alternatives,” adds Mr. Ouellette, who assures that his group is ready to collaborate to identify “innovative and sustainable solutions that meet the needs Population “.