STM

New reserved bus lanes approved

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

New reserved bus lanes have been approved by the city’s executive committee.

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is introducing three new reserved lanes on sections of Papineau (Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Villeray), Notre-Dame West (Lachine, Sud-Ouest and Montreal West), and Ray-Lawson (Anjou). Reserved lanes will also be added to sections of existing routes on Saint-Laurent (Ahuntsic-Cartierville) and Jarry (Villeray).

“The STM is working with the boroughs and towns concerned to carefully plan the introduction of the reserved lanes, with a view to improving the performance of its bus network,” said STM chair Éric Alan Caldwell.

The reserved lane on Notre-Dame Street West, at the junction of the Lachine and Sud-Ouest boroughs and the town of Montreal West, will be extended on both sides of Saint-Pierre Street. A new reserved lane for buses, taxis and bicycles will also be set up between Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Saint-Pierre Street. Once in service, it will operate Monday to Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. eastbound, and from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. westbound. A new reserved lane for buses and taxis will be set up between Saint-Pierre and de la Berge-du-Canal, in operation Monday to Friday, from 3.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., westbound only. Finally, a modification to the hours of operation of the section of reserved lane for buses and taxis already in operation on Notre-Dame Street West between Saint-Pierre and Pullman eastbound will also take place in 2024. It will now operate between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

For more information visit https://www.stm.info/en/about/major_projects/major-bus-projects/reserved-lanes-network n

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STM reports boost in ridership

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) saw a 21% ridership increase last year, for a total of 288 million trips in 2023, according to its 2023 annual report.

It “was a year of return to normalcy following a pandemic that hit us hard,” said CEO Marie-Claude Léonard. Although remote working has reduced travel frequency for many Montrealers, STM customers still choose public transit, said Léonard. “That’s why it’s so important to provide more people-focused, efficient and sustainable services for everyone. The resurgence of large-scale events, leisure activities, and tourism has helped drive the recovery in ridership, which even reached one million trips per average weekday in the fall.”

The increase in ridership in 2023 was also accompanied by a 10% increase in comments and complaints but there was an 8% decrease in complaints per million bus trips and an 11% decrease per million Métro trips. A total 37,943 complaints were handled, says the agency, blaming an “increasingly complex social landscape” which impacts customers’ sense of safety, particularly in the Métro. The STM’s 2023 response was to add 20 special constables to the network and creating the role of safety ambassador to support customers.

The STM also boosted efforts to optimize expenditures by more than $57 million as it awaits indexed, recurring funding. “The STM continued to have constructive discussions with its partners to identify new revenue streams and introduced a commitment to generate $100 million in recurring expenditure reductions over the next five years without impacting service levels.”

The STM added 12.7 km of new bus priority measures (BPMs) and new priority traffic lights at 150 intersections, as well as grouping 31 high-frequency lines — accounting for more than 50% of current ridership — under a new banner marked in purple for easier identification.

The report notes that by 2030, 93% of the STM’s infrastructure will be over 40 years old and need modernization. “We made significant efforts to ensure sound budget management, while maintaining appealing public transit services that meet the mobility needs of our customers,” said Léonard. “We’ll face many challenges in 2024, including funding, which demands a solution if we want to maintain an attractive service offering.” n

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Public transportation workers protest lack of funding

Workers of transport unions protesting outside of Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbault’s office in downtown Montreal. Photo Corinne Boyer

Corinne Boyer
Local Journalism Initiative

On Nov. 14, hundreds of bus drivers, maintenance employees, and other staff from public transport companies protested in front of Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault’s office to petition for more investments in transportation.

The demonstration, which started at 10 a.m. had union workers sounding their horns, blasting music, and holding signs of Minister Guilbault’s face that said “return of the sardine class in buses,” mocking her refusal to invest in public transport until ridership returns to higher levels of commuters.

The protest was planned in retaliation to her government’s proposal in late October to pay only 20 per cent of Quebec’s collective transport $2.5 billion deficit. Four of the union presidents spoke at 11:45 a.m. to denounce this lack of investment.

“We all know that the government must give more money to the Société de Transport,” said Julie Sigouin, president of the Société de Transport de Laval (STL) drivers’ union. “With more money, we’re going to be able to have more buses on the road and more trains in the metro.”

Lack of funding has caused large deficits in the transportation sector and has forced transit companies to implement cutbacks. These cutbacks have largely affected the number of buses that are able to run on a daily basis. If such abatements are put into effect, the metro may have to close at 11 p.m. and buses may only run until 9 p.m.

Nicolas Nadeau-Fredette, media relations and public affairs manager at Trajectoire–a non-profit association that specializes in collective transport for Quebec–confirmed that passenger traffic is at more than 100 per cent in certain areas, and union representatives and transport workers fear that this will encourage the public to take their cars.

According to Nadeau-Fredette, union workers are asking for investments in operational services, which would allow for more bus drivers to alleviate these high traffic rates in certain areas. Though he says that the minister is refusing to invest more sums of money until commuter traffic returns to its pre COVID-19 overcrowding rates.

As negotiations continued, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government agreed to pay 70 per cent of the deficit, a 50 per cent increase to what they initially agreed to pay. Ultimately, they changed the way to calculate the deficit, which resulted in the potential reimbursement of a smaller amount. This led to contention amongst union groups and transport employees and led to their decision to demonstrate.

“Quebec municipalities responded by saying they agree that the government should pay 70 per cent but to calculate from the right numbers,” Nadeau-Fredette said.

Union representatives are asking the government to honour the promises made by former Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel in 2021. They also want the government’s honesty and transparency in their calculation methods for the 70 per cent deficit debt that they promised to pay off.

“Adequate funding ultimately saves households money, since transportation is the second-largest budget item for Quebec families, who are already hit hard by the cost of living,” said the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Marc Gingras.

The Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique and the CSN are calling on Premier François Legault and Minister Guilbault to make the right choice for the future of Quebec as well as future generations by investing the essential amounts of money into transport services. 

Public transit workers say they will continue to plan demonstrations if the government fails to heed their calls and that a future strike is not out of the question.

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Snowdon metro station.

Transit cuts raise concerns amongst Montrealers: STM is considering service reductions due to financial shortcomings

Snowdon metro station. Photo Dorothy Mombrun

Claudia Beaudoin
Local Journalism Initiative

Monica Jackiewicz wraps up her 12-hour night shift at the hospital, exiting around 7:30 a.m., thoroughly drained. The metro has been her reliable mode of commuting home, but she’s now learning that on weekends, it might be off-limits for her until 9 a.m.

On Oct. 30, the Société de Transport de Montréal’s (STM) director general Marie-Claude Léonard confirmed a contingency plan in light of budgetary challenges. This plan entails substantial service cutbacks which include the metro closing at 11 p.m. every day and resuming operations at 9 a.m. on weekends in addition to reducing the frequency of bus services. 

Léonard further clarified that these are merely proposals, and they do not intend to implement such measures unless deemed necessary.

Jackiewicz expressed concern that these cutbacks would force her to resign from her job, given her current work schedule, which includes day shifts starting at 6:30 a.m. and night shifts that typically finish around 7:30 a.m. 

According to Jackiewicz, there was a lack of consideration for the broader societal benefits that the metro provides.“If it’s keeping hospitals open, isn’t that a benefit worth considering?”

With fewer services available, additional time will be added to Jackiewicz’s commute. She mentioned that this would leave her with insufficient time between her shifts, making it unsustainable.

As budget deadlines approach, Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault has decided to allocate $265 million out of the requested $424 million by the Autorité Régionale de Transport Métropolitain in additional funding for 2024. This remains a notable advancement in light of their initial commitment to cover only 20 per cent of the budget.

Guilbault said she believes that budget adjustments can still be made without resorting to significant service reductions.

While the STM’s contingency plan is still under consideration, the disclosure has prompted inquiries and concerns within the affected communities as they contemplate the potential repercussions of such a change.

“I already thought 12:30 a.m. was early compared to the Toronto metro,” said Dalena Nguyen, a student from Ontario attending Concordia University. The metro serves as her sole means of transportation during her studies. She described the 11 p.m. metro closure as feeling like a curfew. In contrast, The Toronto Transit Commission closes approximately at 2 a.m. daily.

Nguyen’s weekly schedule would not be affected, yet most of her exams have been on weekends. Though the bus might be an additional option, her 15-minute commute would grow closer to an hour. “I don’t really like buses because I find them not very accurate to the time. I’m always worried I’ll be late for the bus,” Nguyen said.

In a recent press conference, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante emphasized the cultural, economic, and environmental significance of the STM, stating, “The government needs to continue to show their enthusiasm to support public transit.” 

While Montrealers advocate for transit as an essential service, market fluctuations and such alterations make it challenging to rely on. Earlier this year, STM users also experienced fare hikes–an increase of approximately 3 per cent. 

STM Chairman Éric Alan Caldwell highlighted the direct relationship between service cutbacks and ridership at a talk organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal on Oct. 30. He demonstrated that from 2011 to 2018, when the STM experienced service reductions, ridership declined. Whereas, when service levels improved, ridership tended to increase.

Christian Favreau, a Climate Justice Montreal member and active participant in transit campaigns, shared a similar sentiment. In addition to his personal disappointment, he emphasized the broader consequences of these decisions.

“Public transit is a climate solution in a way that electric vehicles are not,” said Favreau. He discussed the overall emissions generated during the production of these cars, along with their accessibility to the public.

In its new five-year climate action plan, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) announced that transportation was the cause of 42.8 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Quebec in 2020. 

A budget of $3.8 billion has been designated to support Quebec’s transportation sector, with a strong focus on promoting electric vehicles.

“What we are seeing is that the bulk of the CAQ’s five-year climate action Budget is going towards electrical vehicle subsidies,” said Favreau. “But [to do that] we need to get cars off the road.” 

He emphasized the pressing need to alleviate urban congestion and minimize the extent of paved surfaces to address the looming threat of heat waves.

The significance of the transit system as a contributor to climate action is acknowledged in the STM’s sustainable development plan 2025, highlighting that the STM contributes to averting 2.3 million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions.

“The transit system isn’t being viewed as a public good or public service because every time it’s in the news we are talking about a deficit,” said Favreau. “We need to be revolutionizing the way we see our buses and metros.”

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