Some STM Fares Are Going Up This Fall
As of October 1, 2020, new STM fares will be in effect, according to a fare schedule released by the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) on Thursday. Fares will be going up by an average rate of 2%. The ARTM decided not to increase any "exo, RTL, STM, and STL 1-way/cash fares or 1-way TRAM and TRAIN tickets."
According to the ARTM, one-way tickets are some of the most used fares on its networks as people continue to work remotely, which is why they've decided not to increase the cost this year.
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For the STM, this means that riders will see a 50-cent price increase on three-day passes, 10-trip passes and weekly passes.
Monthly passes will go from $86.50/month to $88.50/month. The student monthly rate will be increasing by one dollar to $53/month.
Laval residents will also see a $2 increase in the cost for a monthly STL subscription.
The ARTM is further introducing two new passes for its integrated network.
Users will soon have the option to buy unlimited evening or weekend passes valid on all transit services (bus, metro, train) in the metro area.
Despite the increase, the ARTM said that its "fare offer remains the most competitive of the major Canadian metropolitan areas and one of the most affordable services in Canada and internationally."
The price increases, originally slated to come into effect on July 1, 2020, were postponed in order "to momentarily avoid additional financial impact to users in the context related to confinement."
During the height of the pandemic, the STM reduced service on its bus and metro networks due to a "major decrease in ridership."
Now, with deconfinement measures, more people are using public transit.
STM users should be reminded that mandatory mask-wearing is now in effect for metros and buses.
Users can potentially be denied service if they don't wear one.
For the most part, people have been following the rules.
"On July 22, the percentage of customers wearing face covers was, according to our observations, 95% in the metro," STM spokesperson Philippe Déry told MTL Blog on Friday.
The new fare rates will go into effect on October 1, 2020.