The Traffic Bulletin | Public transport at the crossroads

In the midst of COP15 on the protection of biodiversity, the last week has been marked by repeated calls for help in public transport, whose industry anticipates gigantic losses of 900 million by 2027 if the government funding model do not change.

“It’s gigantic work, what we have in front of us,” said the president of the Association du transport urbain du Québec (ATUQ), Marc Denault, in an interview with The Press last Wednesday. His group, which represents almost all transport companies in Quebec, estimates the value of the budget hole for transport companies next year at 560 million.

Like many other observers, the ATUQ is calling for a change in the funding model. If nothing is done, the deficit will jump to 650 million in 2024. Then, the budgetary hole would reach 800 million in 2025, 860 million in 2026 and 900 million in 2027. solutions. It takes a solid financial framework for the next five years,” says Mr. Denault.

He is not the only one. In the municipal commission on Monday, the chairman of the board of directors of the STM, Éric Alan Caldwell, also implored Quebec and Ottawa to get more involved. “We really have to work on financing the operation of public transport. It’s a burden we all share. There will have to be solutions. The current system is not viable in the short, medium and long term,” he said.

For many, the problem is that government funding too often responds to crises. During the pandemic, Quebec extended 1.4 billion in emergency aid, but to date, no recurring aid is in place in the public transport industry. The Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, offers at this stage no guarantee on the overhaul of the funding model. “We need more money. The higher governments must be there. Without that, inevitably, we will no longer be able to afford this service offer,” Mr. Caldwell clearly mentioned.

In Quebec, the Réseau de transport de la capital (RTC), which on Wednesday tabled a balanced budget of $256 million thanks to government aid, among other things, expects to face several challenges next year, because emergency support from Ottawa and Quebec will no longer be available. “Our collaboration with the various levels will be essential for the future,” admitted the president of the transport network, Maude Mercier Larouche.

Falling down the tunnel

Earlier on Monday, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD) revealed that automobile traffic is falling in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, a month after the launch of the mega-construction site forcing the closure of three lanes. out of six. Fewer than 60,000 vehicles now use this major infrastructure on a daily basis.

Before work began in July 2020, 120,000 vehicles were driving through the tunnel every day. Then, in September 2022, a few weeks before the start of construction, there were only 85,000 left. At the beginning of December, this figure was only 58,000.

Every day, last month, just over 1,300 people used the free government shuttles, whereas before October 31, it was 533 on a typical day, an increase of 147%. That said, the target of 3,000 public transit users that the authorities had set themselves is still far from being achieved.