Transit merger rejected

Quebec will not merge public transit agencies in the Montreal region as part of the coming reform of the Agence métropolitaine de transport, Pierre Moreau said Friday.

Quebec’s transport minister also dismissed a news report this week that suggested he may hand control of the AMT to the 82 municipalities in the Montreal region.

This month, Moreau said he was considering Vancouver’s transit system as a model for the AMT, a provincial agency under fire for cost overruns, long delays and planning indecision.

In Vancouver, the B.C. government created a single transit agency for the region, with local mayors having little say over decisions.

Some Montreal officials interpreted Moreau’s musings as evidence Quebec wanted control of the Société de transport de Montréal and other transit authorities.

But Moreau said the new AMT will not be a carbon copy of Vancouver’s system and transit operations will remain in municipal hands.

“We’re inspired by what happens elsewhere – that means importing what works and avoiding errors made elsewhere,” he said.

Quebec is also considering London and Boston as models for the new AMT, he said.

Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay wants Quebec to transfer the AMT to municipalities but Moreau said he does not plan to do that.

He said he will soon make public his proposal for a new AMT, which will be the subject of public consultations.

Moreau has said he envisions a body that will provide a “global vision” for transportation – one that looks at public transit, as the AMT already does, but also takes in road planning.

Currently, roads are the responsibility of cities and Transport Quebec, while cities oversee most transit services.