Montreal public transit: Overcrowding getting worse with fewer buses on roads

A mother and daughter are shivering on a Monday afternoon on Jean-Talon Street. They've been waiting in the cold for 25 minutes for the bus.

When the 141 finally comes, it speeds past them without stopping.

"It's normal," said the mother. "We usually have to let two or three go by."

On a Tuesday morning on l'Assomption Street, Batrice Laporte Roy waits in line for nearly15 minutes for bus 131. The doors close before she can board. The vehicle is jammed full, right to the doors.

"It's quite common," Laporte Roysaid. "Either the bus doesn't come, or it can't get everyone on board, which means that on the next stops, it will keep goingbecause it can't take anybody else."

Soon it will be like in India,and we'll have to ride on the roof,- STM bus passengerBatriceLaporteRoy

"We are crammed in like animals," piped in Lamia Salhi, a regular passenger on line 18 on Beaubien Street. "Soon it will be like in India,and we'll have to ride on the roof. It's become unbearable."

And it's only been getting worse in the past two years, she said.

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"For the first time in 15 years that I use public transit, I'm thinking about taking a car to get to work," Salhi added.

Fewer buses on the road

Since 2012, the total number ofkilometrestraveled by all Montreal buses hasgone down year after year, which means there are fewer buseson the streets.

One reason isMontreal's aging bus fleet. About of a quarter of all buses are under repair at any given time.

At the same time, the number of passengers transported by the STM has increased continuously.

Every time a bus is too full to take on new passengers, drivers are supposed to alert their managers.

CBC's French-language service,Radio-Canada, obtained a document from the STM that lists all the instances of overcrowding for the first four days of February.

Drivers don't bother signallingovercrowding anymore

The drivers who took the time to fill out the paperworkreported 170 cases.

This is just the tip of the iceberg because most drivers interviewed by Radio-Canada said they never bothered making a report, the problem being so common.

According to this document, a dozen lines suffer overcrowding several times a day, especially the51 Edouard-Montpetit, 18 Beaubien and 141 Jean-Talon. This map shows the worst ones.

Tap or click here for an interactive version of the map.

Transport 2000, an association of public transit users, has been receiving more reports of overcrowding. It says drivers have also been complaining more.

"Often, on line 24 Sherbrooke, I am full after three stops," one driver's complaint noted.

"When users are angry, they complain to us, but we had nothing to do with it," another driver said.

Drivers also tell the association that the bus schedules often do not correspond with reality. Many buses simply don't get deployed, and a single missing bus means the next ones will be crammed.

"It's getting worse. We're leaving more people behind than before Users don't complain enough to the STM, and when they complain, they are not heard," said Renato Carlone, president of the union of bus driversand Metro operators.

"It creates stress, negative comments, assaults, burnout, absenteeism, accidents, fines," Carlone said. This, in turn, creates a vicious circle as absent driversare not always replaced, which means the bus istaken out of circulation, and the delays pile up, he said.

Same problem in Metro

Philippe Schnobb, the president of the STM, knows the problem well, since he is also a Metro user.

"Last week, I missed three trains before I could get on," he admitted in an interview last October where he was asked to explain the delays and shortage of buses.

STM spokeswoman Amlie Regis recognizes there's a problem on certain routes and at certain times of the day. Technological upgrades will help the agencybetter measure usage and plan accordingly, she said.

"In 2016, we'll have a more detailed analysis of traffic to adjust the service where it is really needed," Rgis said.

Currently, only 20 per cent of buses have counting devices.

The new I-bus mobile application expected later this year will let users know where each bus is located on the territory in real time.

"It will allow us to better regulate the service and adjust the service when necessary," Rgis said.

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She also urged passengers to complain when they experience problems, since these are used in the STM's analysis of needs.

Pilot project for boarding through rear doors

Inspired by what is done in other major cities, the STM will conduct a test this spring onone bus line, letting users board through the rear and middle doors.

This will be restricted to passengers with unlimited, monthly and weekly passes.

The drivers' union is worried about the idea, fearing it could encourage fraud and imperil passenger safety.