STM presents balanced budget for 2025, calls on government for more funding

The STM released its budget for 2025 — totaling $1.8 billion — and it will be balanced.

“We are increasing the budget for two aspects,” said Marie-Claude Léonard, general manager of the STM. “To increase the sense of security in the metro network, we will be adding security personnel and maintenance personnel.”

The STM says in 2025, the current level of service will be maintained for Montreal’s public transit system.

“Our service will be the same in 2025 to the one currently in place,” said Léonard. “Also, the STM has committed, come to the, to keeping the growth of its expense at three per cent per year, starting in 2026, for five years.”

Last year, the STM says they made the commitment to reducing recurring expenses by $100 million over the next five years without impacting service levels. A total of $36 million in savings has already been achieved.

The STM says it will pursue its commitment by generating an additional $16 million in recurring expense reductions in 2025.

This comes as the as the transit agency has had to reduce staff and has been emphasizing the need for more funding.

“One critical part of the solution is the governments, at all levels, provincial, municipal and federal kick in,” said Éric Alan Caldwell, chair of the STM’s board of directors. “We’re asking them to rally us so that we make sure that our metro will be there for the next decade.”

Caldwell says the STM hopes to make the capacity on the metro even better.

“We’ll increase the capacity by up to 37 per cent for the green line, so it’s not only state of good repair, it’s also developing our network like all major cities are doing,” Caldwell added.

Last week, Quebec announced that 11 transport companies, including the STM, could reduce their expenses by almost $350 million – according to performance audits commissioned by the province,

The STM says they need investments of $25.8 billion – with $10.7 billion earmarked for metro maintenance.

Some highlights from the capital expenditure program in terms of investments needed include:

• $7.2 billion for the Blue line extension
• $10.7 billion for asset maintenance, with $3.5 billion to start replacing MR-73 cars and related infrastructure
• $1 billion for universal accessibility projects
• $5 billion for electrifying the bus network

“We will be able to increase the level of service, the reliability of our metro, that’s why we have discussion with our partners to increase the level of investment,” Caldwell said.