Montrealers Worried About STM Reliability and Safety

In its latest Montreal Council meeting, the city of Montreal discussed many matters that Montrealers identified as sources of worry. 

In the past few months, the Societe de Transport de Montreal has been subject to budget cuts. Citizens using public transportation have reported that they do not find the network attractive, and that the customer experience far from exemplary. Buses and metros are often late or cancelled and do not serve all regions like they should, especially with the recent increase of users due to the spread of the coronavirus slowing down. 

Alba Zuniga Ramos, the Assistant Leader of the Official Opposition and a city councillor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve highlighted that recent polls demonstrated that users are demanding more service across Montreal. She mentioned that 29 per cent of users declared themselves as unsatisfied with the frequency of service, and 27 per cent found that there was a lack of punctuality. 

The Plante Administration responded that the Societe de Transport de Montreal's service was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore was still in a period of adjustment. The STM's service is being adapted progressively, and is dependent of the agency's current budget. The Plante administration gave assurances that more funds were being sought, and that they were looking to add $78M to the provision of the STM's service.

However, the Plante Administration was questioned on its intentions in regards to safety in metros.The Official Opposition mentioned that there is more and more violence in the city of Montreal's public transit. Montrealers have reported many cases of harassment in metros, such as at Lionel-Groulx, Guy-Concordia, Atwater and Berri-UQAM. More cases of use of hard drugs in the metros were also reported as well as an uptick in lack of cleanliness.

Christina Black, the mayor of Montreal-Nord, insisted that the safety in metros and buses be improved.