No cuts next year for the ARTM
Quebec finally came across with the simoleons for the ARTM for 2025. One source of the money will be higher registration fees for drivers.
Nonetheless, Quebec expects the ARTM to squeeze more out of its budget over the next few years.
Joey 10:41 on 2024-12-20 Permalink
Sounds about right. I just got my registration renewal, due end of January – it’s up $90, about 1/3, to support public transit. This is a good thing.
DeWolf 11:53 on 2024-12-20 Permalink
This is the bare minimum that Quebec needs to be doing. It’s enough funding to keep existing services but certainly not to improve anything. We need a big, long-term boost in funding to massive improve operations: more frequent buses and investments in Exo so we can have 15-minute all-day headways on the St-Jérôme line like was planned more than 10 years ago.
Good news about being able to add Opus to your phone in 2025, though. I’ve used that feature in Tokyo and Toronto recently and I think it’s even more convenient than using a debit or credit card, especially since you get the cost savings associated with using the transit card. (Here it will be the ability to add a strip of tickets onto your phone, whereas debit/credit would charge you full price for a single fare.)