MONTREAL - The rates to use AMT commuter trains will be on the rise next year, but the increase will not be nearly as high as users of four Montreal Island stations had feared.
The AMT was threatening to move four stations – Chabanel (Blainville-St. Jérôme line); LaSalle (Candiac line); Lachine (Vaudreuil-Hudson line); and Montpellier (Deux Montagnes line) – from Zone 1 to Zone 2.
That would have meant an increase for a monthly TRAM pass from $82 to $96, a 17 per cent hike. On average, the fare increase for the users of those four stations would have been 21 per cent.
However, after vehement opposition expressed by the residents and elected officials of the communities affected, the AMT has decided to maintain the current zones and increase the fares of the entire network by 3.25 per cent instead.
"Residents in all of our communities are thrilled," said St-Laurent borough mayor Alan de Sousa. "An increase of 20 per cent was just not justifiable and could not be in the cards. At a time when we're trying to espouse public transit, this was too much."
