Montreal budget fallout: MTC cuts services


The Montreal Transit Corporation says it has no choice but to make some cuts to service because of less money for them in the city of Montreal budget.

The MTC is calling its $1.3-billion dollar budget an austerity budget. It says it has to make $65-million in cuts, leaving a $20-million shortfall.

The MTC got a $12.5-million boost from the city but says it's far less than what it needed.

The cuts will mostly affect bus service during non-rush hours and weekends: there'll be fewer buses on routes so that means longer waits and the buses will be packed with more people.

Other cuts mean decreased hours for metro ticket takers, metro platform workers and metro maintenance.

"Clearly it's not what we want. We want to add hours and not constrain hours," said MTC vice-chairman Marvin Rotrand.

"But with the budget that we have which already contains delaying certain expenses, cutting certain administrative costs, we can only do so much and maintain affordable fares."

The MTC is also delaying putting in more bike racks and is aborting its beautification project to plant flowers outside metro stations.

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  1. Joe posted on 01/29/2014 04:54 PM
    There will be cuts to metro maintenance? It does not appear to be much even now. How can there be less?
    I would venture to guess that Rotrand does not use the metro so has no idea just how bad it is as it is now.
    STM motto "We will give you less for more".
    1. GT posted on 01/30/2014 11:31 AM
      @Joe Actually "je me souviens" (I remember) would also work as the new STM motto. Je me souviens quand le service etait mieux (I remember when service was better).
  2. Elton posted on 01/29/2014 07:53 PM
    Saw this coming a mile away! They could have ordered better buses, instead of pissing our money away on stickers, sweaters and other self glorifying bull****....As a transit user and enthusiast, things started going downhill with the STM in '09.
  3. Drew posted on 01/30/2014 08:31 AM
    Metro maintenance watch the infrastructure fall apart did we not learn our lesson with the bridges and overpasses. How about decreasing the salaries of management that will get some money back
  4. Joe posted on 01/30/2014 08:37 AM
    We have seen just in the last few days hoe the STM maintenance is like as it is. Now they want to cut even more? What a joke these people at the top are. They have no idea what is happening with their metro system. Most stoppages now are the result of breakdowns. That means that the system is old and requires more maintenance, not less.
    1. GT posted on 01/30/2014 11:38 AM
      @Joe Agreed, but the management is only concerned with the short term and how they can manipulate the numbers so that they can be grossly rewarded with bonuses and then the real problem is handed off to someone else who will need another public inquiry/commision to find out what happend and further delay any concrete solutions.
  5. Sam posted on 01/30/2014 03:25 PM
    There should be NO PARKING for any municipal employees , bureaucrats, or elected councilors and their staff. If they all had to use the public transportation system, it might improve. Until that day, expect a steady decline in service , quality and a steady increase in costs.
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