Negotiations are expected to resume today as Montreal public transit strike in third day
Negotiations between Montreal's public transit authority and its maintenance workers are expected to resume today, the third day of a strike causing headaches across the network.
The strike by 2,400 mechanics is limiting bus and metro service to morning and afternoon rush hours and late at night.
Regular service is expected to be maintained from Friday to Sunday for the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, but will be restricted on other days until the strike ends June 17.
The union says negotiations have stalled on such things as the use of subcontracting and on scheduling, especially around night shifts.
On Tuesday, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet said he contacted both sides and urged them to make a joint request for him to name a mediator.
The head of the maintenance workers union has warned that the strike could escalate if a deal isn't reached.
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Montreal Gazette
3 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Weekend traffic: Full transit service for Grand Prix weekend
The Canadian Grand Prix is this weekend, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city. With no parking on the island where the event takes place, the city is strongly encouraging anyone planning to go to take public transit, which will offer full service Friday through Sunday, despite a maintenance workers' strike at the Société de transport de Montréal and ongoing tests of the Réseau express métropolitain light-rail line. STM buses, the métro and the REM will all run on full schedules, from 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Final departures of the REM toward Brossard Friday and Sunday night will be at 1:10 a.m. (Saturday and Monday morning, respectively), and 1:40 a.m. for the night of Saturday into Sunday. The Grand Prix is served by the Jean-Drapeau métro station on the Yellow Line. Signs at various métro stations will guide users to how to get there. A special weekend transit fare is available through the Chrono app and Opus vending machines, allowing unlimited trips throughout the ARTM's territory (Zones A-D) between 5 a.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday for $19.75. There is also a special river shuttle between the Old Port and Île Ste-Hélène, from 8:15 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday, for $6 or free with a weekly or monthly All Modes Opus pass. No new highway disruptions are planned this weekend. Victoria Bridge To facilitate traffic for the Grand Prix, the Victoria Bridge will not adopt a rush-hour configuration on Friday, and will remain one lane in each direction between 7:15 p.m. Thursday and 5 a.m. Monday. Bus route changes The STM is changing two of its night bus routes as of Monday: No. 358 Sainte-Catherine will be renamed 358 René-Lévesque and will travel along René-Lévesque Blvd. from Atwater Ave. to Papineau Ave. No. 368 Avenue-du-Mont-Royal will stop serving the Outremont métro station, simplifying its route to just Laurier Ave. and Côte-Ste-Catherine Rd. Continuing disruptions REM: Except for this weekend, the Réseau express métropolitain remains closed on weekends and ends service at 8:20 p.m. weekdays until summer. Replacement shuttle buses will run between the stations when the REM is not operating, except from 1:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Highway 10: A westbound lane on the Bonaventure Expressway is closed between the Victoria Bridge and Wellington St. until December. On the Clément Bridge connecting Montreal with Nuns' Island, traffic runs contraflow with one lane in each direction until December. Highway 20/Route 132: In St-Lambert, repaving work on a section of the eastbound highway between the Champlain Bridge and Notre-Dame Ave. requires it to close from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. until the end of July. Highway 40: The Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge between Vaudreuil-Dorion and Montreal Island is down to two lanes in each direction. Ste-Catherine St.: The street is closed to traffic between Stanley St. and McGill College Ave. for work on major renovations through summer. Jean-Talon St.: Work on building the Blue Line métro extension will force parts of Jean-Talon St. to be closed. Affected buses (in particular 141 and 372) are detoured onto Bélanger and Everett Sts. to avoid those areas. St-Jacques St.: Work on underground infrastructure has closed the street between St-Philippe St. and De Courcelle St. until the end of May. Pie-IX Blvd.: Work to extend the SRB Pie-IX south means only one lane is open in each direction between Pierre-de-Coubertin Ave. and Notre-Dame St. Ste-Catherine St. remains open through Pie-IX (and Hochelaga St. as well as on Monday), but other cross streets are closed west of Pie-IX. St-Urbain St.: The overpass over the Ville-Marie Expressway is closed for a long renovation until the end of 2026. Pedestrian access is maintained. Pedestrianized streets this summer Mont-Royal Ave. between St-Laurent Blvd. and St-Denis St. until Oct. 16 and between St-Denis St. and De Lorimier Ave. until Sept. 4. Duluth Ave. E. between St-Laurent Blvd. and St-Hubert St. from Monday to Oct. 16. Wellington St. between 6th Ave. and Regina St. until Sept. 19. Ste-Catherine St. E. between St-Hubert St. and Papineau Ave. and a short stretch of St-Christophe St. between Ste-Catherine St. E. and 1278 St-Christophe St., until Oct. 14. St-Denis St. between Sherbrooke and Ste-Catherine Sts., and Émery St. between Sanguinet and St-Denis Sts., from Saturday to Sept. 15. Ontario St. E. between Pie-IX Blvd. and Darling St. from Monday to Sept. 12. Bernard Ave. W. between Wiseman and Bloomfield Sts. until Sept. 21. De Castelnau St. E. between St-Denis St. and de Gaspé Ave. until Nov. 7.
Vancouver Sun
5 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Montreal Grand Prix fans stuck paying turbocharged prices for accommodation
MONTREAL — Paula Wadden has been a huge Formula One fan ever since she got hooked on the Netflix show 'Drive to Survive' a few years ago. But the Halifax-area health-care worker says watching the Grand Prix in Montreal this weekend comes with high-octane prices. The Montreal hotel where she's spending the first part of the week doubles in price for the weekend. Instead, she'll spend the weekend at a hotel outside the city, near the airport, for about $600 a night. 'The tickets (prices) are OK, it's the accommodation and the means that are getting expensive,' she said Tuesday in Old Montreal. 'I don't know how the average Joe can afford it.' Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Wadden said the trip, which she's taking with her daughter and her daughter's partner, will cost $6,000 to $7,000. And that's despite the switch in hotels and the decision to save money by driving the 12 hours from Halifax rather than flying. While looking up hotels online, she said she saw even more eye-watering hotel prices ranging between $1,200 to more than $2,000 a night, as well as $4,000-per night Airbnbs. The Grand Prix is Montreal's biggest tourist event, expected to attract some 350,000 visitors and generate $162 million for the city, according to the head of Tourisme Montreal. Yves Lalumiere estimates average hotel room prices on Grand Prix weekend at $600 to $800 per night — although some wealthy CEOs will pay $8,000 for a suite. 'This year's prices will probably stabilize quite a bit, maybe a two to three per cent increase over the previous year,' he said in an interview. 'But the last five years I've seen an increase year after year, and a substantial increase as well.' A ticket package for the three race days starts at $360, according to the Canadian Grand Prix website — though well-off fans can pay much more. Packages with perks such as VIP concierge service, reservations at popular restaurants and parties, and access to areas such as pit lanes and paddocks can run in the tens of thousands of dollars. However, Lalumiere noted that the city also offers plenty of free entertainment, including a Grand Prix party on Crescent Street. And he said hotel room prices are still 'very competitive,' especially for those paying in U.S. dollars or euros. Crowds, meanwhile, are not only growing but also becoming more diverse, he said. 'I think F1 has done a great job in selling the sport over the media,' Lalumiere said. 'And, therefore, now you're attracting a lot more ladies, you're attracting a lot more young people as well to the race.' Black-and-white checkered banners were already fluttering on St-Paul Street in Old Montreal on Tuesday, as tourists lined up to photograph a Formula One car on display outside Max Bitton's racing-themed store, Fanabox. Bitton said he brought in the car as a gift to fans after last year's Grand Prix, which was marred by mishaps on and off the track that left a bad taste in some fans' mouths. Those issues included traffic headaches, flooding from rain, fans turned away from a practice session they were led to believe was cancelled, and restaurants ordered to suddenly close their patios on one of the busiest evenings of the year. 'I'm trying to give back because last year was so tough,' Bitton said. While Grand Prix fans are generally well-off, Bitton also worries about rising prices, especially now that the city has imposed tougher new rules on short-term rentals for primary residences. Next year, the Grand Prix will be held from May 22 to 24, which is outside the June-to-September window in which primary residence rentals are allowed. 'A lot of the fans love to flock here because of the heritage and they love this place,' Bitton said. 'They're willing to pay more but at some point it doesn't make sense.' At Bitton's store, tourists said attending the Grand Prix was costly, but worthwhile. Max Harrison, from Bournemouth in southern England, said he managed to find a spot in a hostel for about $40 a night early in the week. For race weekend, he's spending $200 a night to stay in a room in an Airbnb shared with several others. 'It's a bit much, you can tell they've spiked (the prices),' he said. He believes 'Drive to Survive' has brought new fans to the sport, which means prices will only continue to go up. But for him, it's worth it to check the Montreal Grand Prix off his bucket list. 'The championship this year is looking really close, so it's going to be a really good race,' he said. 'And Canada is a beautiful place and I've always wanted to come.' Denise Beevor and Mark Omerod, from West Sussex in England, say they're spending 'a small fortune' for a 10-day trip that includes Sunday's race as well as stops in Quebec City and Mont-Tremblant. 'I think, particularly since COVID, it's important to have things to look forward to and to take memories away with you, and you can't replace that,' Beevor said. 'Possessions come and go, memories don't.' The CEO of the greater Montreal hotels association said the occupancy this weekend is expected to be around 90 per cent, similar to last year. Dominique Villeneuve said the industry was prepared to meet the demands of Grand Prix weekend 'enthusiastically and with the same professionalism that characterizes our industry.'
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Montreal Gazette
14 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Canadian Grand Prix is about ‘selling the city'
The Corner Booth Locals might be a little jaded about the return of the Canadian Grand Prix, but for the city's tourism industry, race weekend remains an economic powerhouse. With 2024's gaffe-filled edition firmly in the rear-view, there's optimism abound for this year's Formula One pit stop in Montreal. To drive home the importance of the annual event on the city's cultural and business calendar, Yves Lalumière, president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal, and Andrew Torriani, CEO and general manager of Ritz-Carlton Montreal, joined hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand for a special edition of The Corner Booth at the headquarters of all things razzle and dazzle for Grand Prix, the Ritz-Carlton Montreal on Sherbrooke St. W. 'The team has worked really hard since the end of the last Grand Prix,' Lalumière said. 'We feel very reassured. Tourisme Montréal has been part of the committee to oversee the situation, and I can tell Bell took this very seriously after last year's difficult Grand Prix.' One potential crisis averted is the current STM maintenance worker strike. Lalumière called the Grand Prix a 'lever' for negotiations, and here's a good example: normal bus and métro services will be provided all weekend. For the hotel business, Torriani said that with increased interest in Formula One down south in recent years, the diversity of tourists flocking to the city has grown far beyond the old Eurocentric stereotype to include more American, Asian and South American fans. It's a major boon for a country where Torriani said 'one in 10 people directly or indirectly' work in tourism. The Corner Booth is also available on The Gazette's YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.
