Public transit to be free for seniors on island of Montreal as of July, source says
A trusted source within the city told the Montreal Gazette the measure is expected to cost roughly $40 million per year and save seniors $324 per year on transit fares.
Jason Magder
People exit an STM bus in June 2020. PHOTO BY ALLEN MCINNIS /Montreal Gazette
It will be free for seniors to ride the bus, métro, commuter train and even the REM as of July, as long as they stay within the territory of the island of Montreal.
The Montreal Gazette learned from a trusted source within the city that the municipal budget to be unveiled next Tuesday will fulfil Mayor Valérie Plante’s election pledge last year to allow seniors to ride public transit for free by the year 2023.
The measure was negotiated between the city and the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain in recent months and will come into effect on July 1, when new fare formulas are usually put in place.
This is the second time the Plante administration has negotiated a break on fares for those with lower means in recent years. In the 2021 budget, the city reduced fares for seniors by 70 per cent and made it free for children under 12 to ride, as long as they are accompanied by a person 14 or older.
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“We see that the inflation has been very difficult on the wallets of Montrealers,” said a source within the city. “Among those most affected are seniors, because many are living on fixed incomes. So we want to make it easier to get around, and we want to encourage them to stay in the city.”
The source added that the city is hoping the measure will not only make it easier for seniors to get around, but can help relieve social isolation for those who are shut-ins.
They said the technicalities are still being worked out with the ARTM, but the city expects it will cost roughly $40 million per year and save seniors $324 per year on transit fares.
Since the ARTM recently reformed its fare formula, the measure will be applied to the entirety of the new Zone 1, which includes the Exo commuter trains as well as the REM stations on the island. It’s expected there will be two active stations on the island of Montreal’s territory when the REM is scheduled to come into service in the spring: Île-des-Soeurs and Central Station. Eventually there will be 19 stations on the island, out of 26 in the light-rail network, which is slated to be fully operational by 2025.
The free fares are not expected to result in an overcrowded system, since most seniors take transit during off-peak hours. Seniors make up roughly 13 per cent of those who take transit in Montreal.
With this measure being offered to residents of Montreal, it’s now up to the other regions served by the ARTM — like Laval, Longueuil and the South and North Shores — to decide if they want to do the same. Seniors already ride the bus for free throughout the day in Laval and during off-peak hours in Longueuil.
Negotiations are ongoing between the city and the ARTM to fulfil another pledge from the Plante administration: a social transit fare that would allow those with lower wages to get discounts.
The source did not know when such a fare would go into effect.