Quebec public transit: groups asking CAQ to reverse course

Quebec organizations are denouncing the $200 million cuts to public transit and are asking the Legault government to reverse course.

As first reported by Radio-Canada on Wednesday morning, the CAQ government has significantly reduced the budget for the Programme d’aide au développement du transport collectif (PADTC).

For “small transport companies that are more in rural areas,” these are “quite enormous” funding losses that, in our opinion, could jeopardize or even threaten the survival of some of these organizations, reacted Philippe Jacques, co-director general and spokesperson for Trajectoire Québec.

For some transport companies, “it can represent 20 per cent of their budget,” he added.

The Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) also denounces these “without notice” cuts which “directly compromise” the ability of municipalities and transport companies to offer adequate services.

“We received the letter in December announcing the amounts, but retroactively to January 1, 2025, when the year is completed and” the services have been rendered, and some transport companies “may also have made acquisitions, for example new vehicles, so we realize that there will be a shortfall,” explained Geneviève Dubois, vice-president of the UMQ and mayor of Nicolet.

“For the Gaspé Peninsula, the cuts represent $300,000, for the Nicolet-Yamaska ​​RCM, it’s $150,000, so these are fairly significant impacts,” to the point where many users might question the use of public transportation in the region, the mayor added.

“If instead of having four trips a day, I only have two, so one out and one back, it’s not really worth it. Maybe I won’t take public transport anymore,” she explained.

PLQ is asking Drainville and Fréchette to give their opinion

When questioned on the subject by journalists in Quebec City, the official opposition’s transport critic, Monsef Derraji, indicated that “this government has never taken public transit seriously” and asked the candidates to succeed François Legault to take a stand on the issue. 

“Mr. Bernard Drainville, who wants to listen to the real world, and Ms. Christine Fréchette, do they today endorse these drastic cuts that directly affect public transportation in several regions and affect citizens?”

By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, Bernard Drainville had not responded to the comments made by the Liberal MNA. For her part, Christine Fréchette, through a spokesperson, told The Canadian Press that she “had no statement to make” and that “it is up to the Minister of Transport to respond.”

In an email exchange, Transport Minister Jonatan Julien wrote that “as part of the program, between 2019-2021, $770.2 million was invested to support public transit” and “that between 2022 and 2025, in response to the post-pandemic context and the significant disruptions in ridership experienced by transit companies, we made the choice to significantly and exceptionally increase our contribution, which reached $1.203 billion.”

Mr. Julien added that for the period 2025-2028, government support remains at $998 million, which is “a significantly higher level” than that observed before the pandemic.

“This is a sustained and responsible commitment, while recognizing that the exceptional measures put in place during the pandemic were necessary. But by definition, they were exceptional and could not be maintained indefinitely,” the minister added.

Public transport: benefits for health and the environment

The Quebec Association of Physicians for the Environment (AQME) also denounced the situation, stating that these “brutal cuts stem from a short-sighted government perspective, while the gains from investing in public transit also have repercussions on the health of the population, on air quality, and on sustainable development.”

In Quebec, the proportion of investments allocated to the road network amounts to 70 per cent, compared to only 30 per cent for public transportation.

“But the CAQ government had committed to funding 50 per cent of the road and 50 per cent of public transit,” denounced Jacques.

Quebec is lagging behind in public transit and should take inspiration from Ontario, according to a brief submitted a few months ago by Trajectoire Québec and Alliance Transit.

On a per capita basis, Ontario invests $1,846 in its road network while Quebec invests $3,966.

In contrast, per capita investment in public transit is $3,753 in Ontario, compared to $1,607 in Quebec, according to data compiled by these two organizations.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews