In its bid to get public transport operators to tighten their belts, the Legault government insists it already covers a third of their operating costs. However, its actual contribution is much lower in almost all regions, Radio-Canada noted.
For example, in the 2023 budget of the Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) in Quebec, we can read in black and white that the province only covers 10.6% of operating costs, that is, expenses directly linked to services (salaries, fuel , maintenance, etc.).
The expected short-term financial situation is unsustainable in the long term and will force the RTC to make decisions unless additional funding is received, the document warns.
Even taking into account the emergency aid provided by the Legault government due to the pandemic-related drop in ridership, the share covered by the province is only 15.5% of the RTC’s operating costs.
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Only 15.5% of the RTC’s operating costs are covered by state subsidies.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Hans David Campbell
At the Société de transport de Trois-Rivières (STTR), Quebec’s contribution is hardly more significant. The 2024 budget assumes the province’s share of operating expenses will be only 21%. This proportion is also declining compared to 2023 (25%) and 2019 (30%), the year before the pandemic.
“We call on the government to increase this share,” argues STTR President Michel Byette.
In order to close the ever-increasing gap, the city of Trois-Rivières is therefore forced to pay more, but without the STTR being able to provide a better service, Mr Byette regrets.
This has prevented us from improving our network, improving it, having more lines, more frequencies and more stops, which means that our network has not changed in recent years.
For transport companies in other regions such as Saguenay (21%), Sherbrooke (24%), Lévis (27%) and Gatineau (27%), the share of operating costs borne by Quebec also does not reach the famous third.
The situation is somewhat different at the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM), which brings together the transport companies of Montreal, Laval and Longueuil. The state aid actually makes up a third of the operating budget for 2023.
However, this is largely due to emergency relief related to the pandemic, which ends this year. Prior to the establishment of this temporary support, provincial grants represented only 22% of the ARTM’s operating costs in 2019.
The minister insists and signs
These figures therefore contradict the comments made by Geneviève Guilbault last week when she defended the Legault government’s desire to absorb only 20% of the transport companies’ deficit, under the pretext that Quebec is already doing enough.
We already support around a third of the activities of transport companies. This has always been the case with our programs. That won’t change, the transport minister assured a press crowd.
Despite official data, the minister sticks to this version of the facts. His office recalls that the Public Transport Development Assistance Program (PADTC), which serves to finance operational costs, has been significantly upgraded by the current administration.
In 2015 and 2016, under Philippe Couillard’s Liberals, the PADTC paid $140 million to transportation companies. In the period 2023-2024, the transport companies under François Legault will instead share 401 million, almost three times as much money.
It is up to municipalities and transport companies to determine their financial planning and optimize their services based on expected income and expenditure.
In addition, looking not only at the amounts granted for operations, but also taking into account the subsidies for infrastructure, Geneviève Guilbault’s office confirms that its share of the total financing of public transport in Quebec increased from 37% in 2015 to 48% in increased in 2023.
Find solutions
According to Fanny Tremblay-Racicot, a professor of local and regional government at the National School of Public Administration (ENAP), the provinces’ share of operating costs has actually declined over the years.
Indexing the registration tax – which has remained the same since 1992 except for the Montreal metropolitan area – and the gasoline tax would be a first step to prevent a chronic decline in provincial funding, the professor suggests.
However, focusing solely on an increase in state operating cost subsidies demanded by municipalities and transport companies would not necessarily be a better way of managing public funds.
It is a public service, so we do not expect transport companies to be profitable, but we do expect them to manage their activities, their infrastructure and their employees well, explains the professor.
In his opinion, the real solution to ensure the maintenance and expansion of public transport in Quebec lies elsewhere.
Municipalities should be better equipped to have independent income.
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Fanny Tremblay-Racicot, Professor of Local and Regional Government at ENAP.
Photo: Radio-Canada
Other options include programs to reduce commuting or employee travel. “We see this in the United States,” says Professor Tremblay-Racicot.
She cites the case of Washington state, where large companies with 100 or more employees are affected by a law that forces them to find ways to limit the use of solo driving.
Therefore, employers are strongly encouraged to purchase public transport tickets from transport companies that offer wholesale prices, meaning that 40 to 60% of transport companies’ operating income comes from employer contributions, explains Ms Tremblay-Racicot.