To increase funding for public transportation, taxes on fuel and registration should be indexed annually, and additional fees should be imposed on owners of luxury cars and large vehicles, according to the recommendations of a committee of elected officials from the City of Montreal.
Stressing the importance of finding “new financing avenues dedicated to public transport”, the Commission on Finance and Administration also mentions, among the possible solutions, a tax on payroll, as imposed by American or French cities , a tax on international flights, a tourism tax and a kilometer tax.
It is also proposed to allow agreements between the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and real estate developers to generate income through the construction of housing, for example above or around metro stations.
Among the recommendations, we also ask the Quebec government to restore the share of carbon market revenues devoted to public transportation to 66% – whereas this share was reduced to 25% in 2022.
Another suggestion: applying the tax on non-residential parking lots to a greater number of outdoor lots in the territory of the City of Montreal.
The elected representatives of the commission, who adopted the recommendations unanimously, argue that the annual financial imbalance of metropolitan public transport is estimated at more than 560 million in 2025 and nearly 700 million in 2028.
“Public transit is an essential service that [benefits] motorists as well. We need to have a lot more,” underlined municipal councilor Sylvain Ouellet, of Projet Montréal.
The recommendations will be submitted to the municipal council next August.
