Latest news with #MontrealTransit
CTV News
28-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
New-look Montreal bus stop signs being unveiled
The newly designed bus stop signs are coming to a neighbourhood near you in Montreal. (STM) Look up at a bus stop in Montreal and things may have changed. For the first time since the early '90s, the Montreal transit authority (Société de transport de Montréal - STM) is swapping out its bus stop signs at the around 9,000 stops in the Montreal area. Signs will be gradually replaced over the next few years. The update is meant to coincide with the arrival of the REM light-rail line, which required a new logo. The new designs are meant to make it easier for riders to read the information. What's new? Bus line number is 17 per cent more visible. Type of service 148 per cent more visible. Connections to other modes of transport are 35 per cent more visible. The STM says that around 30 signs are changed every week due to them being broken, the information changing or because of vandalism.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
As Montreal's transit system works on digital shift, critics urge focus on service over tech
Unlike other major cities like New York, Paris and London, where transit users can pay with contactless methods, Montreal riders still need a physical OPUS card to access the system. However, the Greater Montreal regional transit authority (ARTM) has been working on a digital shift called Concerto for the last few years to introduce contactless technology to its infrastructure. Since the fall of 2024, the transit agency has been developing a virtual OPUS card for smart devices. The ARTM hopes to introduce contactless payment for buses and the metro by 2026. Since April 2024, users have been able to reload their OPUS card on a mobile phone. In Laval, Exo bus riders can already pay directly with a bank card. But a transit user advocacy group argues that the multimillion-dollar project would be better spent elsewhere. Philippe Jacques, a spokesperson for Trajectoire Québec, said that while users would be very happy to have contactless payment, the priority should be improving service. He noted that Montreal has one of the oldest metro systems in the world. He said he does not believe contactless payment will increase ridership. 'It's [about] the quality of service. Maybe somebody who only takes the metro a few times a year, when they go to a Habs game or the Grand Prix, will be happy with easier payments. But for most people who take the metro everyday, I don't think it will make s difference,' Jacques said in a recent interview. 'Maybe when we will have a full set metro like in other cities in the world, and a super bus service, then it's going to be the next step, and it's interesting what you can offer to customers.' Jacques added that the most important issues that need to be addressed are the cuts and limitations to funding at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). 'The priority should be to keep the infrastructure in good conditions, and then to have more services. That would be the best. But in Montreal there's really a big problem with the metro,' he said. Technology analyst Carmi Levy also warned that government agencies often struggle to develop and deploy technology effectively, adding that the transit agency should keep it simple. 'This is about open systems, open architectures, reusing technology that has already been proven that works and so only by having an open process that allows all vendors to participate in the discussion, and you have them compete against each other for the right, the privilege to deploy this technology, only then will taxpayers, and ultimately, it comes back to taxpayers, get the best value for their money,' Levi said. With files from Stephane Giroux
CBC
16-06-2025
- CBC
Here's what's happening with Montreal's public transit strike this week
You may have enjoyed regular bus and Metro service this past weekend, but Montreal's public transit strike isn't over yet. It's going until Tuesday night, with more service slowdowns planned. That means there will be regular service today and tomorrow during the rush hour and late-night runs, but service will be halved outside of those hours. Maintenance workers with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) made an agreement with Quebec's labour tribunal to limit the impact on public safety and major events, such as the Canadian Grand Prix. That's why service this past weekend was temporarily returned to normal. On Monday, the bus service hours will be like this: 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. As for the Metro, the hours will be: From 6:30 a.m. to 9:38 a.m. From 2:45 p.m. to 5:48 p.m. From 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Bus and Metro service will be reduced to 50 per cent outside of those hours, meaning buses will make every other run. And the STM says cancelled services may vary from one bus line to another. Keep in mind that the same schedules apply for Tuesday, the last day of the strike, with one exception — the STM says regular bus and Metro service will resume as of 10 p.m. WATCH | What the last two days of the STM strike will look like: Here's what Montreal transit users need to know on the last 2 days of the strike 3 minutes ago Duration 1:39 On June 16 and 17, buses and Metro cars will be running at reduced rates during certain hours, part of a week-long strike by STM maintenance workers. Transit users should also keep in mind that the last bus or Metro will start and end their service at those times. That means passengers hoping to catch a bus or Metro at 9:38 a.m., for instance, will likely have missed their chance as it will be scheduled to arrive at the terminus. People out and about may still see empty buses running outside of those hours, and that's because people are still being trained during the strike, the STM says. And the STM needs to transport buses all throughout the Montreal island-wide network before the start of their essential service hours. Next, if you're wondering if you can be reimbursed for a monthly or weekly pass, the STM says you're not getting a refund.
CBC
11-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Quebec names mediator for Montreal public transit strike
The Quebec government has named a mediator in a labour dispute between Montreal's public transit authority and its maintenance workers. About 2,400 maintenance workers have been on strike since Monday. As a result bus and Metro service is limited to morning and afternoon rush hours and late at night. Labour Minister Jean Boulet says on social media that the mediator will be tasked with easing tensions between both sides and restoring a dialogue "conducive to negotiations." Talks between the transit authority and maintenance workers were scheduled to resume today. 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 is set to end on June 17.
CBC
10-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Here's why STM workers are on strike — and why negotiations could drag on
For the first time in 18 years, maintenance workers for Montreal's public transit system walked off the job Monday, poking significant holes in the city's bus and Metro network schedule and causing headaches for commuters. More unions may be joining the movement. The one that represents bus and Metro car drivers for the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) has approved a strike mandate as well. The maintenance workers with the Syndicat de transport de Montréal are trying to renew their collective agreement, which expired in January. "We don't want to be on strike. We want to be at work. The problem is, we are not able to negotiate right now," said Simon Larivière, a union delegate. For them, there are several key negotiation sticking points including work schedules. The union says the transit authority wants to get rid of 12-hour work days. Its members, however, believe those schedules provide a better work-life balance. "The employer wants to rip up those schedules and make people work two weekends a month instead of one weekend a month. It's not that way we get people to work for the STM," said François Enault, the vice-president for the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the large labour federation that includes the maintenance workers' union. The maintenance workers also want a 25 per cent pay bump over five years — up from a base salary of $80,000 per year. And they say aging infrastructure is making their jobs harder. After more than 70 meetings, the STM says it's asked for a third party mediator. The agency says it faces financial pressure and needs to reduce overhead costs and change scheduling. 75 meetings down, but it took 170 last time STM executive director Marie-Claude Léonard said there have been 75 meetings with the union and "we have not yet addressed the monetary clauses." Léonard explained that it took 170 meetings to reach an agreement during the negotiations for the last collective agreement — an agreement that lasted seven years. Since the salary clauses and several substantive issues have not yet been addressed at the negotiating table, it was not possible to prevent the strike by organizing a negotiation blitz, she said. WATCH | Transit users react to strike on Monday: How commuters are dealing with Montreal's public transit strike 22 hours ago Duration 1:25 June 9, 10 and 11 are going to be the most challenging days of the STM maintenance workers' strike because the Metro and buses will only run during rush hour and a few late-night hours. Philippe Jacques, the spokesperson for the public transportation advocacy group Trajectoire Québec, said the most vulnerable people are the ones who will bear the brunt of this strike. That means those who cannot afford a round-trip taxi ride to work or medical appointments as well as those who are unable to travel by bike. "There are a lot of people who are dependent on public transport, who have no alternative," said Jacques, but, he added, wealthy tourists coming to the city to watch the Canadian Grand Prix will be offered fully operational public transit service due to the strike schedule exemptions. Plante administration says funding shortfall to blame The Valérie Plante administration has repeatedly blamed the lack of provincial funding for the STM's financial issues. STM board chair Éric Alan Caldwell recently said the transit agency is working to have the best agreement "for our workers but also for the financial health of public transit in order to maintain demand and see it grow." "We're dealing with a situation where we have to fit into the money that is available for transit and that's why [there's] negotiations on both parts," he said. Opposition at city hall says the strike could have been avoided if the two sides had come to table earlier. "I expect this to be a tough one. It's going to be long and I don't see a settlement," said Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Ensemble Montréal's leader. She said the city should have seen this coming. "They should have worked with the board and the management teams to avoid where we are at right now," she said. The waiting game Labour specialist Marc Ranger served as the Quebec director of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). He said parties often wait too long to sit down and negotiate. For now, negotiations are at a standstill, according to Bruno Jeannotte, the president of the Syndicat de transport de Montréal that represents the striking maintenance workers. "We have not been approached since the meeting last Wednesday, June 4. Our next negotiation meeting is next Wednesday," he said, adding that the union is ready to negotiate every day. "If the STM calls us to the negotiating table today, we will go there, of course. We are ready to look at the employer's demands and see if there is a possibility of reaching an agreement." According to Jeannotte, the employer has submitted more than 130 demands at the negotiation table.
