Review of Operations
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2006 REVIEW OF OPERATIONS Letter TO MINISTER OF TRANSPORT OF QUÉBEC The Honourable Julie Boulet Minister of Transport of Québec Hôtel du Parlement Québec Madam: In accordance with the provisions of the Act respecting the Agence métropolitaine de transport (R.S.Q., chapter A-7.02), I am pleased to submit to you the AMT’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006. This document presents the review of operations and the financial statements that have been approved by the AMT’s Board of Directors. Yours sincerely, Joël Gauthier President and Chief Executive Officer Montréal, April 26, 2007 REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 AMT 3 4 AMT REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 Our MISSION EXPAND PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICES IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF INDIVIDUAL TRAVEL IN THE METROPOLITAN MONTRÉAL AREA. REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 AMT 5 Let’s Keep MOVING FORWARD! A turning point for public transit The year 2006 was a banner year for public transit. The construction of a commuter train line to serve eastern Québec government published its policies on public transit Montréal and the Lanaudière communities of Repentigny, and on combating climate change. Terrebonne and Mascouche, a project assessed at more than $300.0 million (±30%). In addition, provincial and federal tax measures were put in place: at the provincial level, tax credits for employers who And we have created some new products to make life easier pay for their employees’ transit passes, and at the federal for our customers. Public transit users can now obtain an level, a personal income tax credit allowing users to deduct annual TRAM pass subscription by mail, through their part of the cost of public transit. employers or by signing up with Communauto and benefit from one free monthly pass if they subscribe for 12 consecutive These measures confirm that the legislators recognize that months. public transit has a positive impact in the struggle against greenhouse gases. They are a good omen regarding future The AMT’s team: efficiency and expertise investments in public transit infrastructure for the years The AMT’s employees confidently handled two complicated to come. situations: the derailment of a freight train on the Delson-Candiac line and the collapse of the de la Concorde overpass. The The year was also an important one for the Agence métropolitaine efforts made by the AMT’s team contributed to minimizing de transport (AMT). Ridership on its commuter train system the impact on our customers. The various stakeholders grew by 3.2%, exceeding 15 million trips per year. This places involved were impressed by the effectiveness of our actions, us among the leading major metropolitan areas in North and our customers were soon able to resume their normal America in terms of commuter train ridership, after the New travel habits. York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Toronto regions. In 2006, the AMT also revisited the idea of a potential return Travel on the metropolitan express bus lines also surged by of the streetcar system or a light rail transit system to the over 18%, confirming the popularity of this kind of service. metropolitan area, and thus triggered a reflection process on these possibilities. Financially speaking, 2006 was also a success. With a net surplus of $3.4 million after redistributing an additional Finally, the expertise of the AMT’s team was also acknowledged $2.9 million to the various public transit organizations in by the Québec government and our transit partners in the the region, the AMT has again confirmed its rigorous metropolitan area who counted on our financial expertise in management. determining the operating costs for the metro. The year was also marked by a historic milestone: the completion We plan to bank on our team’s efficiency and expertise in of the work to extend the metro to Laval. Commissioning order to maintain this quality of service for our customers occurred two months before the scheduled date and the and our partners. We will focus on the efficient operation, estimated cost of completion is $745.0 million, $58.0 million management and planning of our equipment and our lower than the authorized budget of $803.6 million. projects, but also on the consolidation and modernization of our infrastructures and equipment. We must also mention the 17-km extension of the Blainville commuter train line to Saint-Jérôme, which was officially To do this, we have modified our organizational structure inaugurated in December 2006 and commissioned on to create new administrative groups reporting to the new January 8, 2007. Vice-President of Safety and Security and to the new Manager of Human Resources; we also enhanced the planning function In 2006, the government of Québec also gave the AMT and restructured project management processes. a mandate to begin studies and work leading up to the 6 AMT REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 Goals and challenges for 2007 One of the highlights in 2007 will be the commissioning of the Thus, we will need to favour service integration, improve the three new metro stations and an intermodal station serving processes for managing transit infrastructures and metropolitan the territory of Laval and the North Shore. Two major bus equipment, and ensure that the governance of metropolitan terminuses and close to 2,000 park-and-ride spaces will be systems and equipment is inspired by the best practices in put in place. Some new public transit infrastructures should other large cities in the industrialized nations. be completed: a new terminus and parking lot in Boucherville, additional parking in Terrebonne, expansion and permanent Our main goal in 2007 is to convince more people to adopt development in Saint-Lambert, and the commissioning of public transit. We intend to improve the whole range of transit new reserved lanes. services available in the metropolitan area. A strategic plan for metropolitan public transit for the period from 2007 to 2017 will The AMT must also continue its studies and analyses to be prepared to meet the expectations of current and potential ensure the long-term viability of the commuter train system, users. in particular, by constructing a maintenance centre, acquiring additional railway rights-of-way, and preparing analyses and I am confident that we will be able to meet these challenges, and requests for proposals concerning the outsourcing of the that our customers will continue to benefit from continuously operation and maintenance of the commuter trains, which improving services. many other metropolitan areas around the world have already done. Let’s move boldly ahead… The public is ready to use public transit if it meets their needs. Users want reliable, frequent, fast, efficient, safe and comfortable service. The challenge that the management of public transit organizations must meet is to be able to respond Joël Gauthier to users’ different needs. President and Chief Executive Officer REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 AMT 7 Left to right, 1st row: Claude Gladu, Michel Fortier, Joël Gauthier; 2nd row: Chantal Deschamps, Pierre Martin; 3rd row: André Lavallée, Martine Corriveau-Gougeon, Raymond Lafontaine. 8 AMT REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 Our Board of DIRECTORS During its 12 meetings held in 2006, the AMT’s Board of Directors adopted 284 resolutions, compared to 315 in 2005. The Audit Committee met four times, primarily to ensure that the AMT’s current management process is being respected. NEW DIRECTOR On April 20, 2006, Chantal Deschamps, mayor of Repentigny, was appointed to replace Jean-Robert Grenier, mayor of Calixa-Lavallée. President and Chief Executive President, Mayor of Longueuil Mayor of Repentigny Officer of the AMT Gestion Corriveau-Gougeon inc. Member of the AMT’s Audit Member of the AMT’s Chair of the AMT’s Audit Committee Audit Committee Committee Joël Gauthier Martine Corriveau-Gougeon Claude Gladu Chantal Deschamps Company Director City of Montréal President, Faubourg Boisbriand Secretary-General Executive Committee Member Chairman of the Board, and Vice-President Responsible for Public Transit Quebec Railway Corporation of Corporate, Legal and Borough Mayor Chairman of the Board, and Real Estate of Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie Aéroports de Montréal Raymond Lafontaine André Lavallée Pierre Martin Michel Fortier REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 AMT 9 Our Senior MANAGEMENT In 2006, the AMT added three new senior management positions: Vice-President, Safety and Security • Manager, Human Resources • Manager, Information on Mobility and Metropolitan Transit. Québec Minister of Transport Julie Boulet Executive Committee Manager, Internal Auditing President and Chief Pierre A. Gauthier Executive Officer Joël Gauthier Secretary-General, and Vice-President, Corporate, Legal and Real Estate Michel Fortier Vice-President, Vice-President, Vice-President, Vice-President, Vice-President, Vice-President, Vice-President, Administration Planning and Commuter Trains Metropolitan Projects Communications Safety and and Finance Innovation Equipment and Marketing Security and Treasurer Céline Desmarteau Robert Olivier Raynald Bélanger Claude Carette Daniel Toutant Marie Gendron Daniel Randall 10 AMT REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 Left to right, back row: Joël Gauthier, Daniel Randall, Raynald Bélanger, Robert Olivier, Claude Carette; front row: Daniel Toutant, Céline Desmarteau, Michel Fortier, Marie Gendron. REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2006 AMT 11 Distribution of GOVERNMENT REBATES In 2006, government rebates totalled $100.6 million (+1.3% over 2005). Revenues from the gasoline tax (1.5¢/litre) amounted to $51.3