Quebec will reveal the conclusions of its accounting audit regarding the management of transport company expenses, a report which risks causing “a big upheaval”, but which may have possible solutions, according to an administrator at Trajectoire Québec.
Public transport companies face a significant deficit that is difficult to fill. So far, one of the initiatives proposed to help is to increase the registration tax in order to increase the taxpayers’ share.
However, Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault must make public a report on Thursday afternoon which would explain that nearly 350 million dollars could be recovered, according to “La Presse”.
“It’s an opportunity to do better because there are surely avenues that have been identified that will be interesting to examine. On the other hand, it is also a threat because it is still a major upheaval in terms of public transport,” reacted François Pépin, administrator at Trajectoire Québec.
According to him, it is possible that certain avenues can be found in collective agreements. “There are perhaps things to question, but going from there to subcontracting is still a major step,” Mr. Pépin qualified in an interview with LCN on Thursday.
Regarding subcontracting with the private sector, the administrator of Trajectoire Québec expressed certain reservations, taking in particular the example of exo which has private contracts with two French carriers.
“There is difficulty in terms of the turnover rate of drivers, in terms of vehicle availability because they take care of everything: maintenance, providing vehicles and drivers,” he said. explain.
Whatever the case, Mr. Pépin judges that Quebec still has “some crusts to eat” when it comes to financing public transport.
“In terms of investment, Quebec is still behind the other Canadian provinces,” he stressed. “Apart from the blue line, not much has happened in ten years.”
