STM won't be adding more elevators to Metro stations, for now, citing lack of funding
30 of Montreal's 68 Metro stations are equipped with elevators
The elevators inaugurated at the Atwater Metro station earlier this week will be the last universal accessibility project taken on by Montreal's public transit authority in the near future, it says, due to a lack of funding.
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) pointed to Quebec's spring budget in a news release, saying that for the third year in a row, the government had not allocated any new funding for infrastructure maintenance or universal accessibility.
According to the STM, maintenance funding is actually set to decrease by $258 million over the next three years.
"This is a worrying situation that jeopardizes the reliability and safety of the network," said Éric Alan Caldwell, chairman of the STM board of directors, in the release.
"This is all the more worrying given that the Annual Infrastructure Management Plan (PAGI) confirms that the proportion of STM assets in poor condition has jumped from 23 per cent to 39 per cent, whether it be tunnels, stations or our MR-73 trains."
Caldwell said that without the necessary funding, the STM can't launch projects to both maintain its infrastructure and build elevators.
Elevator installation work that is already underway at the Berri-UQAM Metro station on the Yellow line and Édouard-Monpetit on the Blue line, will continue.
The $7-million elevator project at Atwater means it is now the 30th of 68 stations in the Metro network to become universally accessible.
Steven Laperrière, general manager of the disability advocacy group Regroupement des activistes pour l'inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ), said he welcomed the addition in such a "pivotal" station but laments the pause on future projects.
He said the onus is often put on people with disabilities or people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices, to justify the need for more accessibility, when in fact, it benefits everyone.
"Let's just say you have an accident and you have a broken leg, well you can at least have an elevator to take you [to the] subway station," he said. "It's important ... it helps everyone."
Laperrière acknowledges that STM's paratransit system, used as an alternative to riding the subway, is a good one, but he says it still has its limitations.
"You have to reserve at least 24 hours in advance so that if you have an emergency, there's nothing you can do about it," Laperrière said.
Then you need to know your departure time and your return time which requires a lot of planning, and the service isn't always on time, he added.
"What we're asking is for the complete accessibility of the subway system," he said.
While the transit agency was aiming to make 41 stations accessible by 2030, that target, it now says, is unlikely to be reached.
Despite the setback, Laperrière is still hopeful it can become a reality.
RAPLIQ is awaiting a decision on a 2017 class-action lawsuit it initiated against the STM, the City of Montreal, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain and Réseau de transport métropolitain.
The organization argued that the lack of wheelchair accessibility on subways and trains is discriminatory.
With hearings on the matter over since December 2023, a decision should be forthcoming, says Laperrière.
"It's kind of long, but at the end of the day, I guess everybody understands because it's a huge decision," he said. "It's going to be historical, whatever the decision is."
CBC News reached out to Quebec's Transport Ministry for comment, but did not hear back prior to publication.
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