Mayors north of Montreal want more control of public transit funds

The municipalities north of Montreal want more control over their public transit funds and management.

An alliance of the 20 mayors in the region north of Montreal and Laval – the Table des prefets et elus de la couronne Nord (TPECN) – say the population is not being served adequately by the public transit system that is in place.

“Public transport is becoming an issue in the region,” said Deux-Montanges Mayor and TPECN president Denis Martin. “We see growth and we see also a tendency to change the way of transportation.”

The region includes the municipalities from Oka to Saint-Sulpice to Saint-Anne-des-Plaines to Mirabel. The population in the region has grown from around 500,000 in 2005 to just under 700,000.

Martin said there is more and more public transit users wanting to travel within the North Shore (around 60 per cent), and not always heading south into Montreal or Laval. As such, the mayors in the region would like the public transit system to reflect that.

“This changes the paradigm that we have to invest in our public transport within the North Shore and that’s what we’re asking,” said Martin, adding that North Shore citizens invest over $80 million in public transport.

A change of that nature would require Quebec to wrest some control away from the Montreal-based ARTM (Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain).

“It’s not serving our population adequately, so we need some changes,” said Martin.

The ARTM said it is ready to change the structure.

"Public transport needs in the northern ring are very real," said ARTM spokesperson Simon Charbonneau. "That's why we are recommending that the Projet structurant de l'Est (PSE) move forward, and why we are already studying east-west corridors in the new version of the Plan stratégique de développement (PSD) to improve service in the region."

Charbonneau added that the solution to the North Shore's needs lies in the increased involvement of all elected officials.

"For the ARTM, the reality of the region's suburbs and smallest municipalities is fundamental," he said.

Public transportation in the region is split in two: trains (Exo) and metro systems heading south and the local networks. The alliance would like more control over the local network, similar to the system in Laval.

Martin said there have been studies since 2008 saying that something should be done, and the alliance would like those studies to turn into action.

The alliance would like to create a local body to administer public transit and retain the money the ARTM collects from the North Shore.