STM - Society in motion

To maintain a comfortable temperature inside métro cars and in stations, we have to ensure proper ventilation.

In addition to existing métro car fans, mechanical and natural ventilation stations, the STM is reviewing its entire program to improve ventilation infrastructures.  A pilot program, launched in June, is being  conducted at Berri-UQAM métro station.  Various sensors installed throughout the station allow for regular temperature monitoring and adjustments when required. If this project is conclusive, it may be extended to the entire network.

Air conditioning  would generate more hot air in the tunnels and stations.  This goes against our comfort objectives.

The new cars will not be air-conditioned.  However, the ventilation system on board will be more effective while the braking system will help reduce heat build-up.  The temperature will therefore be more evenly controlled all year round, regardless of the season.

Video verbatim

You care about public transit… and you are eloquent in showing us so. By the end of this year, 2011, we will exceed the 400 million mark for passenger rides, which means that bus and métro ridership has now reached a level unmatched… since 1947.

This record is all the more significant as it coincides with Montréal public transit’s 150^th anniversary. Indeed, the very first horse-drawn vehicles took to the streets of Old Montréal on November 27, 1861 !

Times are changing

In 1947, the public transit network run by the Montréal Tramways Company operated tramways, buses and trolleybuses. At the time, some 80% of Montrealers used public transit to get around the city, and only 29% used a car. The city, with a population slightly above 1.2 million inhabitants, is not as expansive as today in 2011, and people made a habit of riding public transit, as gas was strictly rationed during the second world war (1939-1945).

The 1950s and 60s became the golden age for car use, the establishment of a highway network and the creation of suburbs. The car became king of the road. Nowadays, the majority of people use their car for all their daily transportation needs, even for only buying a quart of milk.

However, hope is not all lost, and we are starting to see a reversal in that trend, particularly on the island of Montréal. Since 2007, we have witnessed an increase in ridership of more than 11%, while the number of car trips has decreased by 6%. More than 60% of all trips toward the downtown core are carried out by bus, metro and bicycle.

Our Society in Motion is gaining in strength. Such growth in ridership is enough for us to expand our services and improve their quality. It more than justifies our request at all levels of government for dedicated, indexed and recurrent sources of funding to further promote public transportation in Québec.

I trust we will continue to increase our ridership by convincing more and more people of adding public transit to their transportation cocktail.

By using public transit, at times, sometimes, more often, all the time…. you are doing your share for the environment and you are contributing to the quality of life of all Montrealers. Thank you !

Set to be built in Saint-Laurent, the new Stinson bus garage will be both green and gold! Not only is the two-storey building aiming for a LEED GOLD certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), but its construction is part of a comprehensive approach to sustainability.

Subscribing to the principles of sustainable development, the STM will make every effort to ensure this new building becomes the first LEED GOLD bus garage in Canada. Not only must the STM minimize the project’s impact on the environment and ensure the sound management of resources, it must above all concern itself with the quality of life of area residents. As such, all surface water, mud and dust produced during construction will be closely monitored. Outdoor light and noise pollution will be kept to a minimum, green spaces and wooded areas will be established to enhance the surrounding area and limit the formation of thermal islands, while building materials will be procured locally as much as possible. A rainwater recovery system will also recover some of the graywater produced by the garage. The green roof system will cover an area equal to one and a half football fields, roughly one quarter of the total roof surface area. Energy efficiency will also be optimized in order to recover up to 85% of the heat produced during cold snaps.

With a surface area of some 38 400 m2, the garage will house 300 buses, including 200 standard and 100 articulated ones. Plans also include basic installations needed for the eventual arrival of electric vehicles. The garage is expected to open in fall 2013 !

The STM adopted its 2020 Strategic Plan this fall and it has since been approved by both the City and Agglomeration of Montréal. The budgetary and financial challenges outlined in the plan are two-fold: find the funds to FIRST maintain our aging infrastructure and renew our fleet of buses and rolling stock AND find the funds to raise the quality of our services to increase ridership by 40% and thereby reach 540 million passenger rides by 2020.

The required investments total $11.5 B, of which $8 B is ear-marked for maintaining current assets and $3.5 B will be used to develop new services. Given the context, the matter of funding becomes a key issue.

The two main funding sources available to us to finance our annual operations, fare revenue (48%) and a contribution by the City taken from property taxes (35%), have reached their limit. In coming years, their levels will only rise according to the inflation index.

Other sources of funding widely used elsewhere each present advantages and disadvantages: taxes on gas, taxes on petroleum products, tolls for infrastructure, cordon tolls, taxes on parking spaces, increased car registration fees, a percentage of sales taxes, payroll taxes, etc.

A recent survey presented by Radio-Canada last November 22 shows that more than two-thirds of Montréal area residents are in favour of bringing back tolls if and only if the amounts collected are reinvested in improvements to road infrastructure and public transit.

The STM recommends a higher level of participation by Montréal area motorists and by those in the rest of Québec through a range of measures, composed mainly of a tax on gas (from various funds), a tax on parking, registration fees or even a percentage of revenue from tolls set up throughout the metropolitan area. Without a dedicated, indexed and recurrent source of funds, we cannot further expand our offer of service and still be at the forefront of the sustainability so crucial to the development and attractivity of Québec’s major city over the next 20 years.

Which one of these means of financing seems the soundest ? The fairest ? The most efficient ?

In which proportion should those who use the service (customers), those who indirectly benefit from the service (motorists) and city residents contribute ?

Does the idea of sharing the various funds, with 50% for public transit and active means of transport and 50% for road infrastructure, seem fair to you ?

Which method of financing sends out the clearest message so that a proportion of single-occupant car users (5%) modify their commuting habits on occasion, often or always ?

I’m putting these questions to you. I look forward to reading your comments and further discussing the subject with you.

You can look up the following links for more food for thought on the subject:

•    The resources needed to reach the goals for 2020

•    Review of proposals submitted during the workshop on public transportation funding held by Forum Urba 2015 (French only)

•    My thoughts on tolls (French only)