MONTREAL - Montreal's transit brass is hiking the price of a ride.
The monthly pass is going up $2.25, up to $75.50 from $72.25. The price of 10 tickets is also going up $1.50, from $22.50 to $24.00.
The transit authority, known as the STM, made the announcement Friday as part of its annual budget.
STM vice-chairman Marvin Rotrand says fares remain less expensive than other cities like Toronto and Vancouver, and will allow the STM to expand its service.
"There will again be a service increase of more than 3.2 per cent in bus route hours while transit fares will remain among the lowest in Canada reflecting the Tremblay administration's making transit a priority," Rotrand said in a statement.
For 2011, the STM raised the price of its monthly pass by $2.75 to $72.75, which is 50 per cent more than a pass cost in 2002.
Rotrand noted that 2011 will be a banner year for the STM, with a record 405 million riders. The STM predicts 410 million rides for 2012.
Some categories are frozen such as day passes, cash fares, the overnight fare from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. but there will be hikes in the monthly pass and the weekly pass.
Rotrand says that the rate are still a big bargain.
"They are lower than most of the 2011 fares anywhere else in Quebec and they're far lower than elsewhere in Canada," he said.
Some riders interviewed by CTV Montreal were hoping that service improves.
"The service isn't great. I lived in London for 5 years, I just came back so obviously it's much more expensive there - but you have much more for your money," he said.
"What we're sending now as a message to public transit user is that they're assuming more and more of the global cost of collective transportation," said another.
The total budget for the STM in 2012 is $1.2 billion, 47 per cent of which is excepted to come from fares. The rest of the money comes from the City of Montreal, the provincial government and regional contributions, along advertisements and charters.
Rotrand said 32 new buses will be purchased and allocated to three new express routes to help ease congestion problems caused by the Turcot interchange reconstruction.
The following is a list of the price changes for next year.
• Monthly Pass: $75.50 in 2012 up from $72.75
• Monthly Pass Reduced Fare: $43.75 in 2012 up from $41.00
• Weekly Pass: $23.50 in 2012 up from $22.00
• Weekly Pass Reduced: $13.75 in 2012 up from $12.75
• 10 Tickets: $24.00 in 2012 up from $22.50
• 10 Tickets Reduced: $14.25 in 2012 up from $13.00
• 2 Tickets: $5.50 in 2012, same as 2011
• 2 Tickets Reduced: $3.50, same as 2011
• Cash Single Trip: $3.00 same as 2011
• Cash Reduced: $2.00, same as 2011
• Day Pass: $8.00, same as 2011
• All Night Pass (6 PM to 5 AM): $4.00, same as 2011
