After recovering 78% of pre-pandemic ridership, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) adjusted its bus service. It now offers a new way to identify lines whose passages occur every 2 to 12 minutes. About 31 “frequented lines” will have purple signs.
This new visual marker replaces the “maximum 10 minutes” that was eliminated last January due to limited service and the STM’s inability to meet its bus frequency obligations.
Nine lines will operate every 2 to 12 minutes throughout the day, including the 18 (Beaubien), the 24 (Sherbrooke), the 51 (Édouard-Montpetit), the 67 (Saint-Michel) and the 105 (Sherbrooke) . However, this frequency is only offered on weekdays during peak hours on 22 routes. These include lines 32 (Lacordaire), 33 (Langelier), 80 (du Parc), 97 (Avenue du Mont-Royal) and 161 (Van Horne).
This will ensure that users do not have to consult the timetable on these lines, Éric Alan Caldwell, president of the STM board of directors, explained on Monday, and it will also give the STM more “operational flexibility”. “What we’re saying to Montrealers is that we know frequency matters. »
In the coming weeks, signs at 2,500 bus stops will be replaced with new ones in purple and white.
Last August, STM increased its service offering to 75 bus routes as ridership increased by 3%. The service offering is currently 95% of pre-pandemic levels.
Background movement
However, telecommuting continues to weigh on the number of STM drivers, which remains at 78%. The transit agency is still seeing a significant number of trips during peak hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
However, Éric Alan Caldwell is careful not to make any predictions for the coming years. “If the pandemic has taught me anything, it is not to trust traffic forecasts. We are still seeing a fundamental movement with people re-adopting their habits and behaviors,” he said.
“The way to regain the traffic of 2019 is of course to ensure that we have an efficient offer. If we have a service offering of 95% and a customer base of 78%, we tell ourselves that we have the service level required to articulate this recovery. »
The STM is still struggling financially and this year there is another deficit. “It’s not “buoyant” for the coming year. More money is needed for public transport. Despite the recovery in ridership, our optimization efforts, the increase in city contributions and the fare increase, there is still a deficit,” explained Mr. Caldwell. “I don’t have the resources to provide service. We are working at STM to optimize our network and make it more efficient with the resources available to us. »
In this context, the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, promised a five-year financing plan until the end of 2023.
Sarah V. Doyon, Director General of Trajectoire Québec, welcomes the STM announcement with satisfaction. “It’s marketing, but it’s worth it. With the end of the “10 minute maximum” network, users lost the visual indication of whether it was a frequent line. Today we come back with a clear, easy-to-understand brand image. From a communications perspective, this is excellent news for users. »
It remains to be seen whether the STM will be able to increase the number of frequent lines as desired in the coming years, she adds.
“Unfortunately, behind this news lies a limitation in the service offered to users,” says Alba Zuniga Ramos, councilor for Ensemble Montréal and spokesperson for the opposition for active transport and mobility. “In addition to the change from “maximum 10 minutes” to “maximum 12 minutes”, only nine lines will have frequent transit at any time, compared to only 31 lines before the pandemic,” she points out.