Nelson Sergerie, LJI
CHANDLER – The 2026 budget of the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Intermunicipal Transport Board (RéGÎM) will increase by $1 million, for a total of $5.8 million.
The cost of transportation contracts with subcontractors, amounting to $600,000, and capital projects totalling $400,000 explain this significant budget increase. “Contracts are indexed annually when there are no calls for tenders. When there is a call for tenders, they often increase by 20%, 30%, or 40%. Rising transportation costs are the main factor in the budget increase,” says RéGÎM President and Mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté.
Three capital projects are on the table
“We continue to make progress on the electrification of transportation. There are plans to add bus shelters and a mobile application project that has been partially completed and will continue to be developed,” says the president. Gas tax revenues are expected to decrease by $200,000 due to the electrification of transportation.
The board will have to draw $400,000 from its accumulated surplus to balance its budget. “To stop dipping into surpluses, we will have to increase the MRCs’ contributions by around one hundred thousand dollars for the next year. According to the Ministry of Transportation regulations, the municipal level must provide at least 20% to the organization to receive government subsidies,” explains Mr. Côté.
By the end of 2024, the surplus was only $1 million. The authority had drawn $350,000 to balance its 2025 budget, which should end the fiscal year with a smaller deficit, Mr. Côté calculates.
“We need to find new sources of revenue. We could cut expenses, which means cutting services, but the population is demanding more,” notes the president.
The shuttle service implemented this summer in the Forillon area at a cost of $100,000 was a success. “We would like to repeat this type of project, but without additional revenue, we won’t be able to repeat it, but we’ll have to cut services. That’s when we ask ourselves questions about the future of the organization and the revenue to be collected to make it profitable,” continues Mr. Côté.
There’s no question of asking users to pay more to avoid a return to solo driving.
Discussions on the registration tax continue
“We’ve done preliminary calculations to see if it would be worthwhile. Yes, it could be, but it’s complicated administratively. The ministries are forcing us to go back to the MRCs to seek support in principle,” explains Mr. Côté.
The registration fees in Quebec City and Montreal range between $90 and $150, but the scenario would be much lower in the Gaspé Peninsula. “We were talking about a dozen or so at most. We’ve come up with scenarios of $10, $20, $30, and $40. The $40 figure has already been ruled out. It doesn’t cover all vehicle categories. We wouldn’t need $150 to provide services. The goal is to ensure we maintain a certain level of transportation and support paratransit, which suffers from chronic government (under) funding,” the president adds.