STM | A quarter of fast buses late

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is struggling to fulfill its promises with its frequent lines every 12 minutes. A quarter of the buses that follow these routes are late, reveal the Montreal carrier’s most recent “performance indicators”.

Drop in punctuality

While last May these 31 frequent lines arrived on time approximately 86% of the time, their punctuality dropped to 75% in July. At the same time, the overall punctuality of the bus network on local lines increased, from 75% to almost 79%.

The arrival of these new circuits, identified in purple, was announced with great fanfare by the transport company last year. In theory, they were supposed to provide crossings every 12 minutes, or even less. All this in some way replaced the defunct “10 minutes max” lines, which disappeared at the beginning of 2023, in the wake of financial losses following the pandemic.

Several factors at play

In an interview, STM spokesperson Isabelle A. Tremblay, however, maintains that this drop is notably attributable to the adjustment of the service resulting from the drop in ridership and the less availability of staff during the summer season. She also maintains that since the start of the fall school year, the indicator has risen to more acceptable thresholds. For the rest, several factors can weigh in the balance. “A longer red light, a spontaneous construction site, bad weather, traffic: all of this can impact deadlines, but in the end, our frequent lines usually arrive between 2 and 12 minutes,” says M^me Tremblay.

“Poor coordination”

The opposition at city hall is more critical. Users are “visibly witnessing” a further deterioration of the bus service, according to her, “despite price increases and an explosion in the registration tax”, which will jump by 150% at the start of 2025 to finance transport more. collective.

“Patience is the watchword for anyone wishing to travel by public transportation in Montreal,” says the mayor of Montreal North, Christine Black. She denounces, among other things, “the poor coordination of the increasing number of construction sites, the untenable conditions imposed on bus drivers or the reduction of the bus fleet”. “Montrealers are simply not receiving the service they are paying for. »

Drivers out of breath

At the STM Bus Drivers’ Union, which argued last year that the carrier’s promise would not be “deliverable”, the president, Frédéric Therrien, especially denounces the growing pressure on his members. “Management is trying to achieve unachievable performance times. We have more and more roads at 30 km/h, construction sites everywhere, ridership back to around 90%, but no more time for drivers. How do you want it to work? “, he blurted.

“Right now, with the start of the school year, we have so many more people at the stops, so it also takes more time at each station. But they don’t take that into account either,” adds Mr. Therrien, who calls for a more open dialogue with the employer.

More reserved lanes

Same story at Trajectoire Québec. “These lines circulate mainly on the main arteries, where the major construction sites are all for the most part, so yes, it is certain that congestion has a lot to do with it,” notes François Pepin, the administrator of the association. “It nevertheless remains disappointing and above all, it illustrates the need for more reserved lanes. »

“If we increase the number of reserved lanes, that said, we must above all ensure that they are actually respected, by making motorists and truckers aware of respecting the rules. We should relaunch education campaigns on this subject, because we see a lot of delinquency,” he points out.