STM releases balanced budget for 2025 with increased security spending

The Transport Society of Montreal (STM), the city’s transport authority, on Thursday released details of its 2025 budget, which includes increased spending on safety.

The total budget is estimated at US$1.8 billion, which is 0.2% more than in 2024.

The increase in the budget is mostly due to the hiring of security and service personnel.

“As our customers have told us, they are increasingly witnessing rudeness and behavior that sometimes makes them feel less safe on our network,” STM CEO Marie-Claude Léonard said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

The STM cut spending by $16 million it originally planned for this year, calling its 2025 budget balanced. Metro and bus services are not expected to be affected.

The Montreal public transit provider’s priority is to maintain service, Leonard said.

“For us, not having to cut supply is always a win in the current financial context that we’re in,” Leonard said.

In 2024, the STM cut its budget by $35 million, hoping to cut its expenses by $100 million by 2028.

But significant costs are on the horizon. Network equipment needs updating, over the past 10 years the number of service interruptions due to fixed equipment failures has increased by 133%.

The money will also go towards buying new Azur Metro trains to replace older trains on the Green Line.

Eric Alan Caldwell, chairman of the STM’s board of directors, said more needs to be done to upgrade the subway network as well.

“We need to restore it, give it a second life cycle. That’s why we’re making this urgent, compelling call for reinvestment in Metro Montreal,” he said.

On accessibility, Mr. Caldwell noted that the STM wants to increase the number of publicly accessible subway stations from 27 to 41.