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The initiative aims to address their increasing mobility needs and the rising cost of living.
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Montrealers 65 and older will be eligible to ride the bus, métro, commuter trains and REM for free on Montreal territory as of Saturday.
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The initiative to provide free transit to seniors on the island of Montreal, first announced in November, stems from an election pledge by Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante during the 2021 campaign. It aims to address both their increasing mobility needs and the rising cost of living.
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“We want to tell the seniors in Montreal transit will be there for you, it will be free,” said Éric Alan Caldwell, STM chairperson and city councillor for Mercier–Hochelaga–Maisonneuve. “Coming out of the pandemic … inflation has been a real challenge for senior people in Montreal, where their spending is increasing and their revenue is fixed.”
Caldwell said he’s noticed the changing needs of seniors in his neighbourhood over the years. About a decade ago, they asked him for more benches on a given street so they could take breaks on walks. More recently, the same people asked for better public transit on the same street.
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“When you get older, you have increasing mobility needs,” Caldwell said. “Transit is stress-free, and you can get around easily.”
The initiative will cost the city around $40 million per year, on top of the budget already allocated for the STM, Caldwell said.
“An advantage for the STM is most of the rides are off peak hours, so we have residual capacity in our network,” he said. “It’s convenient for us to have more people in our network when it’s less crowded.”
A campaign has been underway throughout the STM network over the past two months to encourage seniors to get their designated Opus cards and load them with the free fare. Caldwell said about 150,000 seniors on the island have the card already, out of which about 85,000 have loaded the free fare.
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“We’re at a rhythm of 3-4,000 people who do it every day, and we’re inviting those who haven’t yet to come charge their cards,” Caldwell said.
Those who don’t have a card yet can get one at any métro station with proof of age and of residence in the city.
The measure was negotiated between the city and the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain, and marks 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.
“Using transit is the stress-free option to get around, to go to buy your groceries, to go to your different appointments, to go to see a concert,” Caldwell said.
“It’s a good social measure for seniors, to help them stay in Montreal and to offer (them) a mobility advantage compared to elsewhere.”
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With files from the Montreal Gazette’s Jason Magder.
kthomas@postmedia.com
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