Eastern REM had so many problems that we couldn’t help but go back to the drawing board, sooner or later. Grievances piled up and social acceptance was no longer there. In fact, this retreat returns us to what should not be left out: the public interest.
And this is because it is in the public interest that the management model REM The east is a problem. Outsourcing public transport planning to the Caisse de depot is a step that should not be repeated. The Quebec government’s decision Monday to withdraw its responsibilities is proof of that.
There are three main problems with this idea of returning part of the public transport development to the Caisse de depot. In a folder titled Eastern REM – the miragesevaluation National Action clearly describes the shortcomings of the project.
The improvisation of the first REM
First of all, the first alarm signals should have sounded in the office of Premier Philippe Couillard when the Caisse proposed a first REM which is to include the Deux-Montagnes commuter train line and the acquisition of the tunnel under Mount Royal. Initially, it was clearly understood that Caisse’s proposal was first aimed at maximizing its return before specifically responding to the needs expressed by the government.
the BAPE came to confirm that the project of REM not fully met the priority, to provide transportation that would encourage people to leave their vehicles at home to travel by train and bus. It is reasonable to think, BAPE wrote in its report, that current public transport users could return to the car if the new mode of REMwith the connections it imposes, does not suit them.
City planner Gérard Beaudet writes, in National Actionthat this REM project and its three versions – REM de l’Est, de l’Ouest and de Longueuil – were in no way the result of integrated planning carried out in accordance with field policies. This was somewhat improvised as a result of the Liberal government following Philippe Couillard’s adherence to a neoliberal approach to public governance.
This work is up to ARTM, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain, to do, in collaboration with the Ministère des Transports du Québec and the City of Montreal and the other municipalities involved.
CDPQ Infra is not responsible to anyone, Gérard Beaudet added. The organization is moving above the Metropolitan Community, the 82 municipalities it includes, the ARTM, the STM, the STL, the RTL and Exo. The consequences of the absence of a global perspective and the assumption of excessive power in the subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt are numerous and extremely unfortunate.
Divide and cannibalize
Second, the REM The de l’Est designed by Caisse de dépôt has a major flaw in offering a route that directly competes with the current public transport offer: along with the Pie-IX SRB, with Montreal’s green and blue lines, and there are the Mascouche railway lines.
As public transport planning specialist François Pépin explained in the dossier National Action, CDPQ Infra expects to meet 133,000 daily passengers, almost all of whom will come from other public transport services and not from vehicle abandonment. What is the transfer of modal from car to public transport?
Moreover, only 13% of daily trips to the East are towards the city center. However, the CDPQ Infra project started downtown on an aerial phase, which was completely unacceptable by the population and the City. Abandonment along this stretch was a comfort for many people who fought against the project.
That said, nearly a third of Montreal’s island citizens live east of the city. It is really necessary to improve the offer of public transport when little has been done since the extension of the blue metro line in 1988. After those in central Montreal, Eastern residents are the second largest user of public transportation with a modal share of 27%explained François Pépin.
It is necessary to rethink REM de l’Est so that it could complement the metro leading to Honoré-Beaugrand and that it could go where the needs were real, such as towards Rivière-des-Prairies, Laval and Lanaudière. The public interest is to better direct REM of the East, though it was less profitable than that passed by the Caisse de depot.
At what cost?
Moreover, and this is my third point, the analysis made public for REM The east is $ 10 billion for 32 kilometers. By applying known data for REM number 1, Michel Beaulé, retired from the Ministère des Transports, tried to estimate the costs associated with operating REM from the east.
First, according to him, the operation and maintenance of the network is estimated at 70 million dollars. It will need to add between 300 and 400 million dollars in royalties by thinking of the annual return required by Caisse of 6 to 8%. And then there will be approximately $ 125 million in additional costs.
Given the total costs to be covered, on the order of $ 600 million, spread over an estimated ridership of 380 million passenger-kilometers by 2044, the rate charged to ARTM by the operating company could be $ 1.58 per passenger-km. For the first REM, the estimate is 72 cents per passenger-kilometer.
The agreement between the government and Caisse is a 99-year commitment, with a possible extension for another 99 years. You or I are still not present by the two deadlines, but it is clear that the Government of Quebec, in that formula, will pay a long time to do the REM.
In the case of the first REM, in practice, the formula agreed upon between the government and the Caisse appears to be more costly for the government than the standard loan funding formula, according to Michel Beaulé. In fact, the government made a payment of an amount equal to 85% of the additional cost related to REM, an amount that ARTM estimated at $ 238 million per year when the bill sent by REM reached $ 438 million. . This amount roughly matches the return that Caisse wants to get from its investment in REM.
An issue that should be taken seriously
The Caisse de dépôt has the merit of doing the project REM from the West. It is not active yet, we will see if the adventure is successful. This powerful Quebec economic tool is that Caisse has the capabilities and energy needed to convince and advance projects. And, when it works for Caisse, it pays for all Quebecers, whose retirement savings are managed by Caisse.
But public transport development should be more than Caisse’s financial interests. We must respect the work of city planners, transportation planning experts. We must have a broad and clear view of the needs of citizens and integrate them into existing networks.
It is important to achieve this to make the public transport offer more attractive to reduce vehicle use, relieve congestion on our roads and rethink our investment priorities. And achieve our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets!
The 2022-2032 Quebec Infrastructure Plan provides $ 14.7 billion for public transportation, but $ 30.7 billion for the road network. Isn’t it time for the Quebec Government to reverse this trend with a serious public transport issue? The decision to REM from the East is a first step.
Source: Radio-Canada