Even if it managed to finalize its budget for 2023 thanks to state aid related to the pandemic, the Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) expects “difficult years” afterwards.
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This was stated by Alain Mercier, the RTC’s outgoing general manager, on Thursday when the airline’s 2023 budget was presented, fearing a “movement context”.
RTC estimates that it will regain 84% of its pre-pandemic ridership levels during 2023. But mainly due to teleworking, this rate should not exceed 90% in the next few years.
In future, the comparison basis for traffic will no longer be the last year before the pandemic (2019), but the year 2023.
The RTC believes that this will give a more fair picture of the situation, which will not return to the same level as before anyway. Teleworking and changes in travel habits during the pandemic explain this change of course, Mr Mercier said.
Popular Services
At the same time, the service level of the RTC in 2023 will reach practically the same level (ie 99%) as in 2019.
The very popular Flexibus service is being extended to Saint-Augustin-des-Desmaures and L’Ancienne-Lorette. It was announced that the deployment would even be brought forward by a few months.
In its third season, Bikesharing (àVélo) will increase its service level by 75% as planned. Citizens and tourists can use 700 bicycles from May 1, 2023.
No general price increase
Although the user share will need to increase by $10 million to fund the RTC in 2023, Mr. Mercier assured that this should not be taken as a sign of an imminent general increase in ticket prices and subscriptions. The increase is mainly due to the predicted increase in traffic, he explained.
However, somewhat mysteriously, the budget documents mention “various strategies (that) are being analyzed to increase the average income per trip”.
The year 2023 will also correspond to the entry into force of social pricing, as already announced in recent months.
End of COVID-related help
To complete its budget of $256.3 million, up just 2.5% despite inflation, the RTC has been able to benefit from emergency assistance from the government of Quebec related to the pandemic. For 2023, that contribution will be $12.6 million.
“However, the impact of the pandemic on user revenue will continue to be felt after 2023. With the end of the emergency relief program, new sources of sustainable, dedicated, recurring and indexed revenue must be quickly tapped into without what the RTC will have to make decisions to maintain a balanced financial framework,” we can read in the budget documents.
When asked about the content of these “decisions”, M. Mercier – who will be retiring in the coming days – spoke of future investments in the electrification of transport. He acknowledged that the RTC needed to think about how to fund its share (roughly $90 million) to implement this huge project.
The fuel price, which is cheaper than expected a year ago, has also helped the RTC balance its budget.
On the other hand, Alain Mercier assured that the ongoing negotiations to renew the collective agreement for RTC drivers are going well. RTC drivers have been without an employment contract since June 30, 2022.
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