Public transportation: the challenge of an immense territory to cover in Saguenay

With a very large territory to cover, the Société de transport du Saguenay (STS) must adapt its service, which weighs heavily on the budget; For the moment, the City is saying no to increasing the registration tax, but is not closing the door for 2026.

If he had a magic wand, the president of the STS, municipal councilor Claude Bouchard, would like to cut the territory that the Society must cover in two. “It would take us 600 kilometers [carrés] less in the territory,” he says with a laugh.

The STS in fact serves an area of ​​1,200 km² and over the last two years, it has had to review the way it covers the more peripheral suburbs, such as Laterrière, Lac-Kénogami, Shipshaw. “It is impossible to serve our entire territory by operating on traditional bases with a bus that comes every half hour.”

Transportation on demand

Thus, the City evaluated each circuit and modified less frequented routes. For example, in La Baie and Jonquière, the STS introduced on-demand transport.

With these changes, the annual budget of $30.4 million is not enough to meet needs.

If Saguenay and its mayor Julie Dufour said no to increasing the $30 tax on registration in 2025, we are not closing the door for 2026.

“We studied. We decided for 2025 not to get into that. We already find that our citizens in Saguenay are fairly taxed. […] Even if we decided not to go there for 2025, we still have the possibility of going there for 2026. We will take the time to evaluate the budget, look at what is happening elsewhere. Following that, we will make the decision for 2026,” argued Claude Bouchard.

Deficits

In 2024, the STS deficit amounted to $1.8 million and for the moment, it is expected to rise to $2.2 million in 2025. We will know more in November, when of the adoption of the budget. “It’s the City that will absorb the deficit,” says Mr. Bouchard.

Like other large cities in Quebec, Saguenay is asking for more help from the government. “With the money the government gives us, we don’t have enough to meet our needs. Over the last few years, we have optimized as much as possible, but despite that, we are still working very tight.”