To increase funding for public transportation, taxes on fuel and registration should be indexed annually, and additional fees should be imposed on owners of luxury cars and large vehicles, according to the recommendations of a committee of elected officials from the City of Montreal.
Published at 3:07 p.m.
Stressing the importance of finding “new financing avenues dedicated to public transport”, the Commission on Finance and Administration also mentions, among the possible solutions, a tax on payroll, as imposed by American or French cities , a tax on international flights, a tourism tax and a kilometer tax.
It is also proposed to allow agreements between the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and real estate developers to generate income through the construction of housing, for example above or around metro stations.
The Commission on Finance and Administration tabled its 21 recommendations on Friday following a pre-budget consultation on public transport financing. As part of this consultation, 28 people and organizations submitted briefs and 1,000 citizens responded to a survey last May.
Among the recommendations, the Quebec government is also asked to reduce the share of carbon market revenues dedicated to public transportation to 66% – whereas this share was reduced to 25% in 2022.
Another suggestion: the application of the tax on non-residential parking lots to a greater number of exterior lots on the territory of the City of Montreal.
The elected members of the commission, who unanimously adopted the recommendations, argue that the annual financial imbalance of metropolitan public transport is estimated at more than 560 million in 2025 and nearly 700 million in 2028.
“Public transportation is an essential service that also benefits motorists. We need to have a lot more,” underlined municipal councilor Sylvain Ouellet, of Projet Montréal.
The recommendations will be submitted to the city council next August.
