1674136293 Subways overcrowded again

Subways overcrowded again |

Montreal public transit users have been returning to overcrowded subway cars and buses since early 2023. The Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) says it has seen an “increase in ridership” on the subway in particular over the past week. But it is not yet the return of the “sardine class”: Visitor numbers have so far remained well below the pre-pandemic level.

Posted at 7:00 am

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“In fact, this week we are seeing an increase in traffic. […] The number of trips increased by around 6% compared to the previous week. This growth is slightly higher than growth normally observed during this period,” company spokesman Philippe Déry replied to our questions.

Overall, the preliminary traffic data for Tuesday 17 January stands at “71% of pre-pandemic levels, a slight increase of 2 percentage points compared to an average business day in autumn 2022 (69%),” continues Mr. Déry. This is a fairly stable number compared to the past few months; However, in 2023, the organization aims to recover 75% to 80% of its traffic.

It is understood that the STM is still in a “period of returning from vacation”, CEGEP students – a significant part of the subway and bus users – have not all returned yet. Still, “it’s encouraging and we want to see that trend over the longer term,” the spokesman said.

Subways overcrowded again

PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS

The number of subway trips this week is up about 6% compared to the previous week.

What to Expect

In November, STM announced that its budget gap was widening: last year it was 43 million; now it’s almost 78 million. At that time, the group had announced that it would reduce the offer on certain bus and subway lines again in 2023.

Then two scenarios were on the table: busy bus lines and connections to the city center, the frequency of which would decrease; and “readjustments” on the orange and green lines, noting in the first case a reduction in rush hour service of around thirty minutes and in the second case an increase in waiting time between trains of around fifteen seconds.

For the time being, the STM does not want to say whether these “readjustments” will have an impact on the filling of trains or buses during rush hour.

“Since the winter service has only been available for a short time and our passenger data for January is not yet complete, we cannot yet carry out a more in-depth analysis. We will therefore not comment on this question, but we are aware of the importance of maintaining a good level of service in order to guarantee the attractiveness of public transport,” responds Philippe Déry.

So far, he adds in passing, the range of services this winter and last fall are “very similar.” “We monitor the cargo on board the vehicles [bus et rames de métro] and emerging trends to optimize the existing range of services and continue to respond adequately to mobility needs,” STM recalls.

1674136285 796 Subways overcrowded again

PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS

More and more users are returning to the subway to get around Montreal.

Funding, longings of war

What is clear, however, is that the cuts at STM are a reality. On Tuesday, the TRANSIT Alliance — a group of mobility organizations — lamented that insufficient government funding is leading to “avoidable” service cuts, citing the latest example of Société de transport de Montréal’s bus service cancellation “every 10 minutes max.” in the eight Lines that still offered it during peak hours.

For Catherine Morency, Chair of Mobility at Polytechnique Montréal, the “main question should be figuring out how mobility services can be better funded quickly”.

“It’s sure to come back 100%. [de l’achalandage prépandémique] possibly. The behavior stabilizes. It’s just that the pandemic is lasting much longer than we thought, but there we still have to make sure that public transport remains a good option, which is not the case, ”concludes the specialist on the subject.

In December, La Presse reported that the shortfall in public transport finances caused by the pandemic could reach 900 million within five years, according to the Association du transport urbain du Québec.

At the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain the deficit is 500 million and at the STM almost 80 million. The Minister for Transport and Sustainable Mobility of Québec, Geneviève Guilbault, had recognized in the process that “in the long run we cannot operate with emergency aid at the last minute from year to year.” His cabinet confirmed on Tuesday that the search for a solution currently has priority.