Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

It’s been about a year since the last time a rise in public transit fares was announced. That fare hike took effect in July of last year. There’s another one coming this July.

The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) – which is the Greater Montreal transit authority – announced last Wednesday that public transit fares will be going up on July 1 – Canada Day.

It says it is taking a “responsible approach” in limiting indexation to 3 percent, “paying particular attention to citizens’ ability to pay in order to maintain the affordability of services for all customers.”

The rise last year saw the monthly pass go from $97 to $100. Here is a list of what riders will pay come July 1: One-trip and two-trip fares will remain the same – $3.75 and $7.00 respectively in Zone A. Monthly fares will go up from $100 to $104.50. A 10-trip pass will go up from $33.25 to $34.25. A 24-hour pass will go up to $11.25, a raise of just 25 cents. Weekly passes (Monday-Sunday) will go up to $32.00 from $31.00.

ARTM Director General Benoît Gendron says “this measure helps limit the financial impact on customers, while ensuring that we can continue to offer a reliable and efficient service.”

The authority says it will continue to ensure that special bus tickets line up with the commissioning of the REM, as well as withdrawing old exo, TRAM and TRAIN tickets.

Last fall the ARTM announced a restructuring that amounted to $3 million in cuts. At the time, Gendron said “all stakeholders in public transit can and must adapt to do more with existing resources. Citizens expect all industry players to adopt more efficient practices” in tough economic times. n