On Tuesday, the regional public transit authority for greater Montréal (ARTM) decided it will centralize administrative services for paratransit services across its territory. The ARTM has authorized the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) to administer this service.
The territory of ARTM operations includes the entire metropolitan region of Montréal, including the cities of Montréal, Laval and Longueuil, as well as the North Shore and South Shore regions.
Unions representing workers in the sector are expecting negative repercussions from this move. “We are concerned about alienation and the loss of contact and understanding of local issues in the regions, including the needs of paratransit users. We will lose local expertise, and there will be repercussions for accessibility for transit users, and the quality of services will be affected,” explained Katherine Bouclin, president of the public transit sector at CUPE-Québec.
In fact, layoffs have already been announced because of this move. Nine positions will be lost at the Société de transport de Laval, while the impact at other transportation authorities is unknown at this time.
“It is important for residents to understand this decision is part of a broader context of government funding cuts in public transit. These budget cuts push transportation authorities towards shared services and centralization, often to the detriment of service quality and with cuts to specialized personnel. Pooling the administration of paratransit is the first step on the road to more centralized control of services. Other similar measures will be seen in the near future,” said Katherine Bouclin, in closing.
