Despite $85M budget cut, STM says it will maintain Metro and bus service | CBC News

Montreal’s public transit provider, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), said it will slash its budget by $85.6 million dollars next year, but those cuts won’t affect service.

According to the STM, this budget reduction will involve a four per cent reduction from payrolls, but didn’t specify the number of jobs that may be affected.

“There may be many ways of doing this without necessarily affecting people per se, like reducing the use of overtime or abolishing budgeted vacancies,” said the STM in a statement on Thursday.

It said it would evaluate all positions including managers, employees, union members and non-union members to determine the needs, but “positions related to service delivery will not be affected.”

The STM’s $1.77 billion budget will maintain bus and metro services at their current levels and increase paratransit service by 29.5 per cent, back to 2019 levels, “despite the challenges associated with funding,” it said.

It had previously projected having to close the Metro at 11 p.m., stop intercity buses at 9 p.m., and cutting lines from the public transit network if Quebec didn’t cover its deficit. The provincial government said it would cover 70 per cent of public transit deficits, with about $238 million going to the greater Montreal area. 

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The organization said it was able to make one-time savings of more than $18 million and $52 million in 2022 and 2023 respectively, but is looking for other places to slash spending. The STM said it will reduce its expenditures for goods and services and adjust the special operating budget for specific projects.

“This level of effort cannot be sustained over the next few years, without jeopardizing the company’s ability to maintain its service offering,” it said in a news release.

The STM said it is committed to generating more savings in the coming years, pledging to find $100 million in spending reductions over the next five years, all without impacting customer service.

By 2030, 93 per cent of the STM’s infrastructure will have reached more than 40 years of service life, it said. That means the STM will have to spend more on maintenance and repairs, boosting its budget for capital expenditures up to $21.1 billion over the next ten years.