Digital Transformation at ARTM | Guilbault calls for acceleration

Quebec is running out of patience and is asking the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) to “move ahead on schedule” for the phone and bank card payment system on public transportation. On the Metropolitan Express (REM) network, new signs will also arrive on Friday at Central Station.

This was confirmed on Thursday by the office of Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbault, following a meeting held at the beginning of the day with the Director General of ARTM, Benoît Gendron. The goal, as the government asserts, was to “evaluate the various files.”

“In particular, we asked ARTM, in a concrete way, to provide the deadline for payment by cell phone and bank card. We ask them to provide us with scenarios. It is illogical that it takes so long,” says Maxime Roy, the minister’s director of communications.

Earlier, Thursday, Journalism He revealed that This Thursday, the regional authority must present to its officials a 162 million plan that will allow users to enter modernity within four years, in 2027. This plan will be implemented in four phases: first, recharging the mobile phone system in early 2024, then adding card payment. Or the phone in 2025 or 2026, and finally, a digital system that brings together several modes of transportation on one platform by 2027.

further communication

On a financial level, Quebec recognizes that the financial arrangement for the project is “complex,” but it nonetheless calls for the potential savings to be reassessed, if necessary. However, Mr. Roy insists that “the priority, above all, is to accelerate this project.”

The Minister also generally calls on ARTM to “better communicate with users and various stakeholders” in the public transport ecosystem. “We want them to bring the user back to the center of the decisions, back to basics in the end,” explains Maxime Roy.

The Regional Transport Authority, reached by email, said it agreed with the minister’s comments, stressing that work “has already begun in this direction” with the active participation of transport companies.

According to the organization’s spokesman, Simon Charbonneau, the $162 million plan he revealed Journalism “Elements have not been incorporated to improve the timeline that reflects the work of the past few days, work that is still ongoing.” “Some items require a higher level of verification before being publicly displayed. This will be announced in early October. We will be able to report on the progress at that time,” Mr. Charbonneau continued.

New REM signals

Finally, on Friday, the promised “tweaks” will appear on the signal side of Central Station, and it has been confirmed Journalism With Artem. According to our information, new offers will be published at the beginning of the day.

Initially, action was promised during September, but pressure appears to have increased to speed up installation of new signs.

Last week, the story was reported by Journalism by student Dashiell Friesen in particular caused a stir. The young man, who studies graphic design at Concordia University, said he wanted to take matters into his own hands, and designed and printed dozens of posters before pasting them on the winding internal road linking Bonaventure Metro Station to REM Central Station.

ARTM justified itself by saying that “the case of the link between REM and Metro is special because it involves many stakeholders and heritage considerations that go back to Parks Canada.” Before going ahead, discussions were also scheduled to be held with the private real estate groups Kominar and Petra Group, which own some of the corridors used by travelers, and which also summoned the authority.