Montreal public transit agency says ridership fell in 2025 due to rotating strikes

By Canadian Press on January 19, 2026.

MONTREAL — Montreal’s public transit agency says commuters took about 20 million fewer trips on its network in 2025 as metros and buses were disrupted by rotating strikes.

Agency spokesperson Amélie Régis says passengers took 294.1 million trips in 2025, down from 314.6 million trips in the previous year.

Régis says the 2025 numbers were estimated at the end of November, and do not account for an overtime strike in December.

The agency estimates weekday ridership was down by nine per cent, while weekend ridership decreased by 12 per cent.

Apart from the impact of strikes that disrupted services in the summer and fall, Régis says shifting immigration policies are also a factor in the decline, since there were fewer international students taking trips on public transit in 2025.

The agency suggests the impacts of the strikes could ease in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2026.

The Canadian Press