Project Montreal Delivers Transit Hikes and Delayed Metro Expansions

Transit prices in Montreal are on the rise again affecting low and middle-income workers. The average hike is two per cent in Greater Montreal, well below the rate of inflation. But for occasional and single-use riders in the South Shore or Laval, the increases are much steeper. Off-island riders in Laval and the South Shore looking to commute on the island will now be paying $5.25 for a single passage instead of $3.50 as of July 1. Opus cards, the system's monthly fare card, has also faced hikes – rising from $90.50 to $94 a month for unlimited ridership.  More than 4,000 people have signed a petition asking the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) to freeze the rates.

Mayor Valerie Plante is on the record for supporting reduced fares for low-income workers and the working class, among other big promises that her party made regarding transit in Projet Montreal's 2017 election campaign, proposals like adding the late, lamented 'Pink Line' to the city's metro system, a plan frozen by inadequate commitment from federal and municipal governments. But has her administration delivered for the city's working class population since coming to office nearly five years ago?  Could they be doing more despite the incredible challenges the city has seen over the course of the pandemic?  And are voters right to expect more from the nominally progressive and citizen-centered Projet Montreal municipal party?

Tyler C. Noakes is a Montreal-based investigative journalist whose work has appeared at the CBC, The Tyee, CULT Montreal and elsewhere. In this conversation he joins Local 514 host Savanna Craig for an in-depth discussion exploring the past, present and future of Montreal transit.