The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is setting up a text message reporting service to allow metro users to communicate non-urgent incidents that occur on the network. Text messages will be sent to the relevant personnel, whether security ambassadors, the mediation team, the police department, maintenance managers or special constables.
The objective is to reinforce the perception of safety of passengers, who will be able to send a text message discreetly to express their concern in the face of situations of incivility, in particular.
This is a measure suggested by metro users and which is used by other large transport companies, including the Toronto Transit Commission, underlined the general director of the STMMarie-Claude Léonard, during a press briefing Monday morning.
The objective is to intervene quickly to defuse situations that could harm the experience of our users
declared Ms. Leonard.
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The STM has set up a number to text non-urgent incidents.
Photo : STM
If you don’t feel safe, we want to know
insisted Éric Alan Caldwell, president of the STM board of directors.
A range of measures
The creation of this line is in addition to the security measures already put in place by the STM over the last few months.
Since November 4, special constables and security ambassadors have been carrying out more intensive rounds in 13 metro stations, targeted based on customer complaints and employee reports.
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The homeless population has greatly increased in the Montreal metro since the end of health measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo : - / Kevin Archambault
In addition, at the end of December, around twenty special constables will be added to the 180 who are already on the ground, and the number of security ambassadors will soon double. There will be 30 of them crisscrossing the network. Metro managers are also present during morning and evening rush periods.
These measures are being put in place as winter approaches, a period when cohabitation with homeless people trying to escape the cold on the streets could be more delicate. However, the metro is not a refuge and its staff cannot support people who need psychosocial assistance, said Mr. Caldwell.
All this should reassure customers in a context where violent incidents in the metro are increasing.
On October 12, a 37-year-old man died after being stabbed on the platform of the Guy-Concordia metro station.
Two weeks later, on October 31, another man was stabbed near the Papineau metro station, leading to the station being closed for several hours.
The perception is so bad that Japan has warned its nationals visiting Montreal to take special care when taking public transportation.
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According to a Léger survey conducted this spring for the Brotherhood of Police Officers of Montreal (FPPM), 59% of metro users say they feel less safe there than five years ago.
For the moment, line 1 888 786-1119 will only be accessible to metro users, but the STM plans to extend it to bus customers.
