The STM has hired from within to find its new CEO.
Luc Tremblay has been the agency's Treasurer and Director of the Finance Dept. since 2007. He has been acting Chief Executive Officer since 2014.
"I love the STM," said Tremblay, who takes public transit every day. "I'm a fan of public transit, the values of the STM are mine and I only want to develop more and more public transit in Montreal."
Last year, complaints to the STM about buses running late were up significantly, a problem caused by vehicles being taken out of service for repairs. Tremblay said he knows that much needs to change.
"What are you going to do to make sure these buses spend less time in the shop?" he said. "We have to get (our employees more involved to) fix the wrong things rapidly."
Tremblay added that though the STM has already cut costs by $127 million over the last two years, he needs to make things more efficient. His plan for that includes a switch to electric buses, a transition he hopes to have complete by 2025. The STM will launch a pilot project of three electric buses in 2017.
"At the moment, the technology is there," said Tremblay. "So we have to run things and experiment."
The selection committee for the public transportation board said it examined 150 candidates before narrowing the field down to six people, four of whom were interviewed for the position.
Tremblay has worked for the STM since 1994, two years after graduating from HEC Montreal with a diploma in public accounting.
