Once again, there'll be increases in transit fares in the new year.

The STM released its 2013 budget today, and it calls for the price of a monthly pass to go up $2.25, to $77.75.

In 2002, the price was $50.

The reduced-fare pass for 2013 will also go up $1.75, to $45.50.

A one-day pass goes up to $9, up from $8.

The three-day pass goes up to $18 from $16.

And 10 tickets will go up one dollar, to $25.

And new this coming year, there'll be a new weekend rate. For $12, users can benefit from unlimited rides between Friday at 6 p.m. and Monday morning at 5 a.m.

The single cash fares will remain the same: a regular fare of $3, a reduced fare of $2.

STM vice-chair Marvin Rotrand says compared with other North American cities, public transit remains a bargain. In Toronto, for instance, a monthly transit pass costs $126. There, transit fare revenue accounts for 72 percent of the transit corporation's budget. In Montreal, that figure is 46 percent.

The extra cash from the transit hikes, Rotrand says, will be pumped back into better services in the coming year, including, new buses on some routes, more hybrid buses, more bus lanes, and more real-time information that users can access on their smartphones.

The goal is to make riding the bus and metro more attractive for Montrealers.

"We've made a political choice. The Tremblay administration supports public transit," Rotrand contends. "We think it reduces congestion, improves mobility, spurs economic development and it saves the government money for bridges and highways they don't have to build."

Rotrands expects 2013 to be a record year for ridership on the STM system. They're expecting 418 million rides on buses and metros in the coming year. By 2020, they're hoping to grow ridership to 540 million rides.