‘We can’t pay for it’: Public transit users decry looming rate hikes in Montreal

A single adult ticket for the bus and metro on the island of Montreal is increasing to $3.75, a $0.25 increase or seven per cent jump, starting in July.

Almost 50 protesters gathered downtown Tuesday to protest against a looming transit increase for all modes of mass transit on all systems in the greater Montreal area.

The average increase for riders is three per cent, which is below the rate of inflation — but still too much for demonstrators advocating for low-income commuters.

“It directly affects my family. They live in the suburbs and now it’s really hard to see each other anymore because we can’t pay for it,” Heloise Lessard, a protestor who opposes fare hikes, told Global News.

The average increase depends on the type of pass purchased and the destination. For instance, a single adult ticket for the bus and metro on the island of Montreal is increasing to $3.75, a $0.25 increase or seven per cent jump.

A monthly adult pass is going up to $97 from $94, which is equivalent to a 3.2 per cent increase. But seniors on the island will now travel for free.

Advocates for vulnerable Montrealers say the rates should be a sliding scale, based on a person’s income and ability to pay.

“We all agree that fares should not be increased any more and they have to be reduced,” Jean Lalande, who opposes any far hikes, told Global News.

But in an email to Global News, a spokesperson for the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) agency that runs the transit systems in greater Montreal, wrote that “in 2023, public transport in the Greater Montreal region was facing a shortfall of $500 million and a 6.2 per cent increase in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) to balance the budget for financing existing services.