According to CAA-Quebec, the financing of collective mobility is a social problem. The province calls on the government to review the financing of public transport.

Based on reporting in The Government GazetteThe province will provide approximately $212 million of the $400 million requested to help manage transit agencies’ structural deficits. Communauté Métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) voted to increase the annual public transportation fee that drivers pay on their vehicle registration from $59 to $150 to support the remainder.

“For many people, owning a vehicle is not synonymous with wealth, but rather the only way to get around and meet their daily obligations or needs,” said Marie-Soleil Tremblay, President and CEO of CAA-Quebec. “This increased fee will not fund additional services that would allow more drivers to leave their vehicles at home if they wish.”

An online survey of 1,211 CAA-Quebec members, conducted between March 22 and 31, 2024, found that 59 percent of respondents oppose the additional tax. In the update, CAA-Quebec said it is not up to vehicle owners to pay the shortfalls of trucking companies. They have proposed diversifying sources of funding.

“The government must show creativity and vehicle owners must not be targeted with a punitive tax increase,” CAA-Quebec said in a press release, adding that “our organization is a letter to the Minister of Transport and Sustainable MobilityGeneviève Guilbault, to advocate for fairer financing of public transport.”

The situation is still uncertain, although the new tax has already been approved and will be implemented.