On behalf of its 1.36 million members, CAA-Quebec is urging the Quebec government to review the financing of public transit. According to the organization, it's not up to motorists to pay for the transit companies' deficits, and the 154% increase in the additional tax on vehicle registration voted by the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal is the last straw.

Is the solution to public transit's funding and performance problems really to pass the bill on to motorists, whose contribution to public transit in 2021-2022 will amount to $1.4 billion in duties and taxes? This is a legitimate question. Public transit is a common good, and CAA-Quebec believes that everyone who benefits from it in one way or another should contribute to it.

“Owning a vehicle is not synonymous with wealth for many individuals, but the only way to get around to meet their daily obligations or needs.  This additional contribution will not fund any additional services that might enable more motorists to leave their vehicles at home if they wish to do so,” said Marie-Soleil Tremblay, President and CEO of CAA.

According to CAA, collective mobility is more than just an alternative to the car. “In addition to representing a lever for reducing traffic jams, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and limiting our ecological footprint, it plays an essential role as a vector of social equity in terms of travel, since it offers reliable transportation solutions that are accessible to everyone, regardless of income or age. This includes seniors, students, low-income workers and people who choose not to own a car,” says the company.

For CAA, it's clear that diversification of funding sources is becoming necessary and that the government needs to be creative, and vehicle owners must not be targeted by a punitive tax increase.

Follow-up to the Chantier sur le financement de la mobilité

The Quebec government, aware of the many issues and challenges ahead in terms of mobility, held a vast consultation workshop in the fall of 2019, from which emerged several potential solutions to the financing of public transportation. At the time, CAA-Quebec submitted a brief outlining various scenarios worth exploring in depth.

The consultation highlighted solutions such as income tax, the use of the Fonds d'électrification et de changements climatiques (electrification and climate change fund), the capture of property value gains and a payroll tax on businesses. CAA-Quebec believes that many of these avenues must be explored, and that the sustainability of public transit in Quebec depends on it.

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