Latest news with #TrajectoireQuébec
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
Montreal Gazette
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
‘I'm following the strike very closely,' Valérie Plante says
The city's mayor has not taken a bus or métro since the STM labour conflict began on Monday. On Wednesday, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante addressed reporters for the first time since the strike began. The mayor was asked why she has said little about the strike, which affects one million Montrealers who rely on transit for their daily commuting habits. Up to Wednesday, she had issued very short statements on social media reminding Montrealers about the strike, with links to the STM's website. 'I'm in Montreal and I'm working on different subjects,' Plante said. 'I'm following the strike very closely, and it was very important for me to communicate the details about the strike to the public.' Plante has famously invited Quebec transport ministers to take a ride on the métro to see what the public-transit situation is like in the Montreal region. However, she admitted on Wednesday she had not taken public transit since the strike began. She was chauffeured by car to Wednesday's news conference at city hall from her house in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. 'I used my bike twice last week and I took the métro once last week,' Plante said. 'But in the last three days, I didn't. On Monday and Tuesday, I was expected at two conferences at 7:30 in the morning, so it was difficult to wear my dress on my bike or the métro, and I wanted to be on time, so this is why I used my car.' Plante said she didn't have to take the métro or bus in order to have an idea of what the situation is like during the strike. 'It's not because I'm working in my car that I am not connected to the situation in the métro,' Plante said. 'It has always been who I am as a mayor to be connected to public transit.' Reached Wednesday afternoon, Philippe Jacques, a spokesperson for the lobby group Trajectoire Québec, said he didn't have a problem with the fact Plante didn't take the métro since the strike began, saying the mayor is engaged in the labour dispute. He said he was surprised by the lack of a statement by Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault. Ensemble Montréal Leader Soraya Martinez Ferrada has also not taken the bus since the strike began. In a written statement, Martinez Ferrada, who lives in Montreal North, said because she doesn't live in the central part of the city, it is difficult for her to take public transit. 'There is a cruel lack of public transit service outside the central neighbourhoods,' she wrote. 'Citizens of the east and west of the island deserve much better transit service. With the current strike, it is even more difficult for people in the peripheral neighbourhoods to get around on public transit.' Plante spokesperson Marikym Gaudreault said it's difficult for Plante to just take the métro because she has to be surrounded by armed guards, and often it causes inconveniences for commuters. Among the three elected officials who were with the mayor for an announcement on the adoption of the city's urban plan, only Robert Beaudry had taken the métro to get to the conference. Executive committee member Sophie Mauzerolle, who is in charge of transportation, took a bike to get there. Luc Rabouin, who is the Plateau-Mont-Royal mayor and the Projet Montréal mayoral candidate, said he has taken the métro in recent days. Éric Alan Caldwell, who is Plante's appointed chairperson of the STM's board, said he took two different lines of the métro to get to the news conference. He said the situation is difficult for many Montrealers. He added that many Montrealers have written to him to complain about the impact the strike is having on their lives. 'People don't have any other options and they are sad to see that service is not there,' he said. 'Listening to those people should make us realize how transit is important in our world. Caldwell pleaded with frustrated commuters not to take their frustrations out on transit workers, who are doing the best they can during difficult circumstances. Both Plante and Caldwell welcomed the fact that the STM and its maintenance union agreed on Wednesday to meet with a mediator in hopes of breaking the logjams in the negotiations. This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 3:31 PM.
