Articles inside « Chairman says » category

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 !

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)

Fully committed to the fight against global warming, the STM will convert its entire surface transport network to electricity by 2025, as outlined in its 2020 Strategic Plan.

Michel Labrecque live Electrifying public transit, september 15, 9 a.m to noon

Electrification of Montréal’s public transit network will be carried out in phases. Starting in 2012, the STM will purchase hybrid diesel-electric buses only, gradually moving away from diesel drives. Over time, the bus fleet will consume less fuel and emit less greenhouse gases.

The STM will also test electric buses that use rechargeable batteries and become an expert in terms of « rapid charging ». The technology means buses can recharge their batteries at each extremity of a given route or along the way. With rapid charging batteries, the 100% electric propulsion mode runs silently and produces zero GHG emissions. Working with Hydro-Québec, the STM will conduct a demonstration project for this technology as early as in 2011.

Moreover, through its partnership with the City of Montréal and Hydro-Québec, the STM plans on deploying a limited trolleybus network to better assess that transportation mode. The trolleybus has a proven track record, while having a positive impact on the environment, and would be right at home along the city’s busy traffic arteries. Deploying a trolleybus route on Saint-Michel boulevard, for example, could lower GHG emissions by some 2500 tons a year.

Electrifying public transportation is 100% good news for the environment.

For more information:

Ministère des Transports du Québec

Association du transport urbain du Québec (French only)

Plan d’action 2011-2020 sur les véhicules électriques (French only)

Plan stratégique 2020 de la STM (French only)

The STM calls for tenders to acquire mid-size electric buses