Given the “clearly inadequate” aid from the Legault government, transport companies in the Greater Montreal area no longer have a choice: they must cut their services or pass on the tax increase to taxpayers, laments Mayor Valérie Plante.
Posted at 3:32 p.m.
“We think it’s a real shame. Either there will be cuts in services or it could affect taxation,” lamented Ms. Plante in the press crowd on Tuesday, who is also president of the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM), which brings together 82 municipalities in the region.
Previously, Quebec confirmed in its budget update that total aid for public transport next year would actually be 265 million, including 238 million for the Greater Montreal area, a figure that, according to the government’s calculation, absorbs 70% of the deficit. Accordingly, the deficit amounts to 338 million US dollars.
However, the cities had a very different vision. As of Monday, they estimated the deficit at 532 million before revising it to 461 million. In a letter to Prime Minister François Legault on Monday, the CMM’s elected representatives called for a final time on Quebec to pay 346 million in financial aid to cover 75% of the deficit, an increase of 128 million.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Cuts in public transport are expected in the Greater Montreal area.
It is primarily the revenue from the registration tax that explains the discrepancy between the calculation of the state deficit and that of the cities. This revenue, estimated at 122 million, must be used to expand public transport depending on the city, while Quebec wants to allocate it to the deficit.
Ultimately, Quebec didn’t budge, even though the cities had already pointed out that relief funds below 300 million could lead to the subway on the island of Montreal closing after 11 p.m. Bus service cuts and driver layoffs were also mentioned in the Greater Montreal area.
“The situation is serious”
In short: “The situation in the Greater Montreal area is serious,” says Ms. Plante. “We’re honestly still a little in shock,” she said, adding that Montreal, Laval and Longueuil carriers need to “evaluate different scenarios” to determine “what impact this might have on service.”
In the suburbs, EXO absolutely needs to do the same, in collaboration with the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM), said the elected official, who also hopes that ARTM will be able to provide “various scenarios” for the future.
At the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) we are still in the process of assessing the damage. “The final offer from the Quebec government was made on Thursday evening. We are still waiting for figures from ARTM to know the share of STM. It is therefore still too early to define concrete scenarios. […] “Our budget will be presented in the coming weeks,” said his spokeswoman Amélie Régis via email.
On Monday, ARTM also remained cautious in its comments, noting that not all of the elements required for its analysis had yet been confirmed.
In the press briefing, Ms Plante also deplored the fact that the government is repeating the same mistakes of the past without considering the consequences for longer-term public transport ridership.
“The former transport minister [François Bonnardel] He had given a great commission, he had consulted everyone, but we never saw the color of that report. “It’s Groundhog Day,” she insisted, lamenting that the CMM was still being told, “Here’s the check, that’s it.”
However, a five-year financing plan still needs to be drawn up for the future, a task that both parties say they want to tackle. “We’re really trying to stay motivated […]“But we really want this time to be the right time to sit down as partners,” Mayor Plante argued on the issue.