“We are not there at all,” said Valérie Plante, during a press briefing.
The mayoress of Montreal, however, was full of praise for New York City, stressing that the administration of the American megalopolis “is very courageous and consistent with its objectives of facilitating traffic in the city center and also of financially support their public transport ”.
By 2021, New York will implement a toll for vehicles traveling in an area from southern Central Park to lower Manhattan Island. It will cost over US $ 10 per day for motorists wishing to drive in this currently completely congested part.
Annual revenues of a billion are expected. This sum will make it possible to renovate the existing network.
“That a great American city is taking action is good news. It’s very positive, ”comments François Pépin, president of Trajectoire Québec.
Other cities, in Europe in particular, have already installed such a device. This is the case, for example, of Gothenburg (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Milan (Italy) and London (United Kingdom).
In 2017, former mayor Denis Coderre paved the way for this initiative. As part of a conference on the fight against climate change, the former federal deputy had mentioned “an option that could be inspiring”, while promising a debate.
At the time, the Projet Montréal party, then in opposition, called for a study on this subject. This was ultimately never achieved.
Repeated requests to the Quebec government
“Me, I would not close the door to this idea,” reacts environmentalist Steven Guilbeault.
The founder of the organization Équiterre, whom he left to advise the Trudeau government, hopes that “this issue will be carefully studied”.
“We must ask ourselves the question of the financing of public transport,” he underlines, recalling that currently this financing is done in particular through the surcharge on gasoline.
The more people go to public transport and electric cars, the less money there will be for public transport.
According to Mayor Plante, “we have to admit that we will have to be always more creative”.
I have said it on several occasions, even to my interlocutors at the provincial level, the current funding of public transit in the metropolitan region does not meet the needs. […] We can’t do it. We need help.
At the end of last year, the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM) put forward the idea of a tax on registration throughout its territory. To date, only owners of vehicles registered in Montreal must pay a sum of $ 50.
Although it does not have the power to oppose this idea, the Quebec government has already expressed its opposition and it refuses to tax motorists more.
Quebec has nevertheless announced that a consultation will be held on the financing of public transport, while the CMM has already expressed its concern about an explosion in operating costs in the coming years.
No metro opening at night
The official opposition party at City Hall, Ensemble Montreal, proposed to open the metro all night long for 13 weekends during the summer period. A motion will be tabled to this effect at the next municipal council meeting. No figure was however put forward, which made Mayor Plante jump, who accuses the opposition of a “lack of rigor”. “Where do we cut to finance this? She asked.
The Société des transports de Montréal (STM) has already closed the door to this idea, recalling that train maintenance is carried out at night. “Unlike other subways around the world, the Montreal network does not include double tracks that would make it possible to offer the service while maintaining it,” says the STM.
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