The STM says the money in its 2016 budget is going toward helping improve service.
The transit corporation has unveiled its $1.5 billion budget, saying it aims to achieve a balance between client experience and increasing demand while staying on-budget. The city of Montreal is contributing $447 million to the budget.
There will be no fare hikes, at least not for the first half of next year, in order to give users a break.
"We will know exactly in May what is the real situation and at that time we'll be able to decide what will happen with the fares," said Philippe Schnobb, chairman of the STM's board of directors.
The plan to improve service hinges on a few measures the STM believes will be implemented next year, including:
- The new Azur metro cars, which are expected to help relieve congestion on the orange line
- The iBUS service, which uses GPS to give riders real-time updates on how far away their buses are
- The addition of 45,000 hours of additional bus service and 50 kilometres of reserved bus lanes
- Purchasing 27 standard hybrid buses (including 20 air-conditioned ones)
To help reduce long lines, the STM is also planning to conduct a pilot project where riders will be able to board buses from the front and back doors.
The STM will also invest $3.5 million in adapted transport to improve that service as well.
The opposition at city hall admitted the budget brings a lot of good news, but lamented how long it took to implement those measures.
"We're playing catch up that arrives way late in the game. It's still a good sign but imagine where we would be right now if we started on day one that public transit is an investment," said Projet Montreal finance critic Guillaume Lavoie.
