3 days ago
Expect longer commutes, crowded buses and metros, if strike happens, STM says
Montreal's public transit authority says it would be important for people to plan ahead when commuting starting next week, as a looming strike promises to severely disrupt its bus and Metro services.
"We suggest to set aside twice as much time as usual to get around," said Marie-Claude Léonard, the executive director of the Société de transport de Montréa l (STM), during a news conference on Wednesday morning.
"During the service hours, there will be crowding."
Léonard also suggested that people use other transportation methods if possible.
Earlier this week, Quebec's labour tribunal ruled that about 2,400 STM workers who do maintenance work on the city's buses and Metro cars can go on strike from June 9 at 12 a.m. to June 17 at 11:59 p.m.
Exceptions were made, however, for peak hours and to account for the influx of tourists and increase in traffic during Grand Prix weekend.
The union representing the workers, the Syndicat du transport de Montréal-CSN, and the STM agreed to only provide services during peak hours on June 9, 10 and 11. For June 16 and 17, there would be service in those peak-hour windows and the the frequency of buses and Metro cars would be reduced by 50 per cent outside of those hours.
The reduced services outside of the peak hours would also apply to June 12, but the peak-hour windows on that day would be slightly bigger.
For the Grand Prix weekend, between June 13 and June 15, there would be full service.
STM service limited to rush hour and late evenings on June 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17:
Metro:
• 6:30 a.m. to 9:38 a.m.
• 2:45 p.m. to 5:48 p.m.
• 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Bus:
• 6:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
• 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• 11:15 p.m. to 1:15 a.m.
Outside of the hours listed above, the bus and Metro frequency would also be reduced by 50 per cent on June 16 and 17. There would be no bus and Metro service outside of the peak hours for June 9, 10 and 11 and access to the Metro will be closed, making those the most challenging strike days for commuters.
STM service offered on June 12, the eve of Canadian Grand Prix weekend:
Metro:
• 6:30 a.m. to 10:38 a.m.
• 2:45 p.m. to 6:48 p.m.
• 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Bus:
• 6:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
• 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• 11:15 p.m. to 1:15 a.m.
The bus and Metro frequency would also be reduced by 50 per cent outside of these hours.
The STM said the strike would not affect adapted transit nor school shuttles.
Montreal's light-rail train network, the REM, has relied on buses from the STM and the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) to provide shuttle buses outside of its current service schedule that ends at around 8:30 p.m. The STM says the shuttle bus it provides for REM users would be available between 11:15 p.m. and 1:15 a.m.
The maintenance workers are with the Syndicat du transport de Montréal, a union that is under the massive umbrella of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) labour federation.
The STM is also negotiating with three other unions, including one that represents bus and Metro car drivers who just voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. That union has not yet decided on strike dates.
According to the STM, it provides 1.1 million trips per day.
