In case you hadn’t heard, the metro is back in service, and downtown is open again.
Don’t forget to bring your May pass with you when you buy your September one, and ask for a tax receipt.
Tag Archives: STM
McGill metro evacuated after structural fears
It’s not just overpasses. The McGill metro was evacuated this afternoon after work on the de Maisonneuve bike path apparently caused a leak into The Bay next door and that led to the discovery of a large crack in the ceiling.
(The media is describing this as everything from a “crack” to a “depression” to a “cave-in”, but have settled on “crack” and “threat of collapse”)
Service on the green line is shut down between Berri and Atwater Lionel-Groulx. Alternative bus service is being setup (Eastbound on Ste. Catherine, Westbound on René-Lévesque), but during rush-hour with a major artery closed it’s probably faster to walk across downtown. Trains have been added to the Orange Line to help compensate.
The metro is expected to reopen on Monday if there’s no risk of collapse of the tunnel.
Cash transit refunds this week
From Tuesday to Saturday, cash refunds are being made available at select metro stations for those with May 2007 monthly passes who don’t plan on buying a September pass.
Special booths are being setup outside the turnstiles of these stations where special ticket-takers will exchange your May 2007 pass for $3.50 ($2.00 for reduced fare passes) and a receipt for tax purposes (but only from 6am to 7pm).
The STM has a PDF poster online, though curiously that poster isn’t put up at these booths, which means unless you’ve been paying close attention to the newspapers, you probably have no clue what they’re for.
Starting Sunday, when September passes go on sale, May passes can be returned in exchange for a discount on the September pass and the same tax receipt, and this can be done at any location that normally sells transit passes.
It shouldn’t cost $9 to get from one shore to the other
Midnight Poutine has a rant-post about something I’ve heard a couple of times recently: when taking a trip that spans two transit networks, it’s treated as two separate trips, and you’re charged full-price for each.
So imagine someone taking public transit from western Laval to Brossard. That person would have to take an STL bus ($3), the metro ($2.75), and an RTL bus ($3.25). Total cost: $9.
We have, thanks to the Agence métropolitaine de transport, a “zone” monthly pass, which allows unlimited travel in multiple transit networks at a price considerably below what you’d pay for the different network’s passes individually. Why can’t we do something about individual trips to save people some money?
Part of the STM’s plan as they introduce a smart card system next year will be to be able to control zoning better. This will probably mean that a trip between downtown and the West Island will cost more than a trip within the downtown area. Hopefully this might also mean it’ll cost less than $9 to cross three transit networks on a single trip.
STM’s strike rebates coming this month
As expected, the STM is offering a $3.50 refund for people who have May 2007 bus passes and had to endure a four-day maintenance workers’ strike that shut down service for more than half the day.
The details are in this STM press release, which, following their “Fuck You Anglos” policy, is available only in French.
Basically:
- The price ($3.50) will come off the September bus pass (making it $61.50 instead of $65). You can get a cash refund if you don’t plan to buy a September pass, but only at select metro stations (Angrignon, Lionel-Groulx, McGill, Berri-UQAM, Honoré-Beaugrand, Côte Vertu, Snowdon, Bonaventure, Mont-Royal, Jean-Talon, Montmorency and Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke), at select times (6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and on select dates (Aug. 20-24). Not that they’re making it hard or anything.
- Reduced fare passes will be compensated $2.00, making a $35 pass $33.
- You must still have the May 2007 bus pass, to prove you’re eligible. Hand it in when you buy your September pass at any metro station, and you’ll get a receipt for federal tax purposes.
- Holders of TRAM-3 passes must use the Montmorency metro station or AMT points-of-sale (like the ones at Central Station and Windsor Station). It’s unclear if this also applies to TRAM-1 and TRAM-2 passes, but I imagine it would.
- Holders of weekly passes can apparently go fuck themselves, since they already knew about the strike when they bought their passes. (The news says they’ve already been compensated, but I don’t remember that.)
- The compensation is calculated based on the hours during the month that service was not provided (60% of the day for four days).
Fairview: No longer the centre of the West Island universe?
Apparently the STM is considering a major overhaul to the West Island bus network in the coming years, which will increase service and, more controversially, “do away” with having most of the buses go to the Fairview bus terminal.
Currently 17 buses go there, making it the largest STM bus terminal on the island. Only Bonaventure’s massive RTL terminal is larger.
I’m not sure how much I like this idea. As it stands, you can get from just about anywhere in the West Island to just about anywhere else using two buses. And where you have the option of more than one bus, you can just take whichever comes first to Fairview.
The STM is considering a grid system, in which buses go either East-West (like the 68 and 211) or North-South (like the 209 on Sources or the 201 on St. Charles). That way to get anywhere you’d still only need two buses, but could avoid an unnecessary detour.
The problem comes in their solution to the bigger problem: Shuttle service to the metro. Currently only the 470 Express Pierrefonds serves this function, and only during rush hours. Lots of people who go downtown take a bus to Fairview and then transfer to the 470. With a grid system, people might have to take two buses to get to Fairview, lengthening their trip.
Expanding express service is a brilliant idea (if only someone had thought of it earlier), but I’m unconvinced that enough people are taking trips where going through Fairview is a burdensome detour to justify such a shift in routes. Let’s start by getting more frequent service and faster service to downtown and we’ll go from there.
UPDATE: Wow, beat CTV News on this by over 48 hours. Someone sleeping on the job there? Or did their copy of the Chronicle arrive late?
New turnstiles in the metro
The STM has begun installing new turnstiles in the metro, starting at the De la Savane, Monk, Plamondon and Villa-Maria stations. The new turnstiles are designed to be used with electronic smart cards, which will allow the transit authority more control over payment (including, for example, establishing a zone system where you pay for how far you go).
Sadly, when eventually put into service along with the new electronic fare systems installed in buses last year, this will spell the end of Montreal’s notorious but still fully functional punch-card transfers.
Take your bikes outside – the metro doesn’t want them
A letter in today’s Gazette complains about bikes being rejected in the metro. Normally, bikes are allowed outside of rush hours on the first car of every train.
Normally.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of exceptions. Days when there is, to use an STMism, an “achalandage important” which prevents bikes from being used safely. And looking at the list on their website, it looks like it’s just about every day this summer.
The STM is maybe being a bit over-cautious about safety, but not as much as people may think. On Wednesday, as I took the train to see the fireworks, the human traffic was insane. Tens of thousands boarded trains (some had to be added to handle the extra load), crammed in tighter than during the peak of rush-hour, all headed to Papineau to either get on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge or the parking lot underneath it. All the escalators were set in the up direction (those going down had to use the stairs), and police were called in to handle the crowds.
Imagine having to take a bike on that.
The other concern is that allowing one person to take a bike on the train means you have to allow everyone to take their bike on the train. So events that involve bikes, like the Tour de l’Ile mean they have to ban bikes on those days too, even though other traffic is pretty close to normal. (The STM has since relented slightly on the Tour de l’Ile, allowing some stations to accept bikes but not others).
Consult the list for exact times, but as a rule of thumb don’t count on using the metro during the evening or pretty well at all on weekends until the summer festival season is over.
Kitty Metrovese
For those of you following the buck-passing on metro security passing the buck, we’re getting some interesting and, of course, contradictory reports from all sides. The STM says it never ordered anyone to stand by and laugh do nothing while some guy beats up on his girlfriend. The security workers union spokesperson says the police told them not to intervene while calling it “absurd”. And the public safety minister wants an investigation.
A few comments from the peanut gallery here. First, why is nobody talking about the report that the employee in the ticket booth refused to call 911? That doesn’t require putting anyone in danger, yet for some reason it was apparently refused. It’s unclear if that led even in part to delaying police arrival (they came 17 minutes later), but if it did I would expect that to be an even more serious story.
Second, why didn’t anyone do anything? There were plenty of ordinary people around who had plenty of time to bark at the metro employees. Why did they not intervene? The guy didn’t have a weapon. You could argue that putting people in harm’s way like that is dangerous, but if so why are these metro employees who don’t have arresting power, don’t carry firearms and are not supposed to intervene in these cases expected to do so?
Finally, with over a hundred police officers patrolling the metro, why were none in the system’s busiest station? Or the library or bus station next door? Why did it take police 17 minutes to get there?
UPDATE (Sept. 6): An “error in judgment” but no disciplinary action.
STM agents are watching your back – but not protecting it
Apparently now that the police are taking over the metro, the remaining STM personnel are shifting into a different, non-policing role. And apparently that role involves sitting by and doing nothing but waiting for police as people get beat up.
Makes me feel safer already.
The STM transit strike is over (for now)
STM maintenance workers are voting to approve an agreement in principle, ending Montreal’s strike after four days. The union’s executive has ordered employees back to work immediately. Service will resume slowly, with partial service tonight (they’ll get as many buses out as they can) and full service expected to resume tomorrow morning.
CBC Radio crack reporter Catherine Cullen is flirting with Bernie St-Laurent at the union meeting and reports the following:
- No deal has been reached on a contract. In fact, both sides are still at a stalemate, so the agreement only covers ending the strike and sending everyone back to work.
- The STM would reimburse transit users $3.50 ($2 for reduced passes) on their September passes to compensate for the reduced service.
- Montreal Museums Day is still on for Sunday and will have the free shuttle provided by the STM, however there will be only one transfer site at the Journal de Montréal on Frontenac.
Meanwhile, an hour after the strike was declared over, the English online media is still silent, despite the thousands of Montrealers who need to know how they’re getting home tonight (and couldn’t care less whether the government falls tomorrow, unless it’s through a coup). The CBC.ca story sits unchanged since 3:25, and The Gazette and CTV (can someone get them a copy of WordPress so they can build a real website?) still say it’s a deal in principle but the strike isn’t over.
Of course, it’s all an academic point I suppose. Everyone knows Fagstein is the city’s most trusted source for STM-strike-related information.
Revolutions are so disorganized
With today’s anti-STM-strike protest still 45 minutes away (wish I could go see it, but the buses won’t get me there fast enough), there are already rumours circulating of similar protests planned for Friday and Tuesday.
The media picked up on today’s protest (4pm, Berri-UQAM metro), so it may get some decent activity despite the last-minute planning.
UPDATE: Since there’s been no news following the protest, I’ll assume that it either didn’t happen or didn’t make much of an impact.
UPDATE (Fri. 4pm): Apparently nobody showed up but the media and a single organizer. I don’t know if I’d agree that it was “heavily hyped”. In fact, other than a La Presse brief, a vague Facebook post and some mentions on the morning all-news channels (which only the media watch anyway), nobody even knew about the protest.
Everything you need to know about the Montreal transit strike
UPDATED: Friday at 6:50pm – It’s over. STM and union negotiators have come to an agreement in principle. Service is resuming slowly. See the latest developments.
Just in case you were curious, no, there wasn’t a last-minute agreement between the STM (Société de Transport de Montréal) and its maintenance workers (the Syndicat du transport de Montréal). So the strike is on, and everyone’s going to need to spend more time planning how to get around town.
I’ll dispense with telling you the blindingly obvious (bike, walk, carpool, taxi) and get down to some things people have been confused about with the coming strike.
The basics
- The people on strike are maintenance workers, not bus drivers and metro ticket-takers. They belong to a different union, so don’t blame them for the disruption.
- Service is still being provided during rush hours and late at night, on a schedule established by the essential services council.
- Nobody knows how long the strike will last (basically it’s until one side cracks from the pressure), but the last strike was 8 days long if you need a ballpark figure. The union insists it could be over “in minutes” while the STM and city warn it could be a long strike.
- The government has the power to impose a settlement through legislation, but is reluctant to do so. Nevertheless, the labour minister has given both sides a 48-hour deadline as of Wednesday to settle the conflict.
The timing
Buses and metros will work on the following schedule:
- Weekdays: 6:00-9:00, 15:30-18:30, 23:00-01:00
- Weekends: 6:00-9:00, 14:00-17:00, 23:00-01:00
At the start of these periods, buses will start up mid-route wherever they would normally be at that time. And any bus that starts will finish, even if it reaches its terminus after the service period is over. (Note: This works out for most routes, however some longer ones like the 211 may lose a departure or two at the end due to logistical problems — the last departure of the morning 211 Westbound is at 8:39am)
Metro trains will also start mid-route at various points in the network. Stations open 15 minutes before the first train, and schedules are posted at metro entrances.
The metro end-times are somewhat complex:
- Green (1) and Orange (2) lines: Last trains start at the two terminuses at the end of the morning service period (9:00am), passing through Berri-UQAM at 9:25. For the afternoon and evening periods, the last trains will depart the terminuses 20 minutes before the end of the service period (6:10/4:40pm, 12:40am), all passing through Berri-UQAM at the last minute of the period.
- Yellow (4) starts from both terminuses at the end of the service period
- Blue (5) starts from both terminuses at the end of the morning and afternoon service periods. The last trains of each day leave at 12:15am as they normally do.
The STM has replaced its normal bus and metro scheduling pages with a hacked-together system that notes which bus stops are cancelled and when metros will run through a particular station. In case you’re unclear about a particular departure, check the STM’s website and it will give you a definitive answer.
All this being said, this strike is still nothing short of chaos for STM management. So expect the network in general to be less reliable than normal and give yourself a margin for error.
Services unaffected
- AMT commuter trains are not run by the STM, so they will be running on a normal schedule.
- Those of you who have not taken commuter trains before should know that regular bus pases are not accepted on board. Individual tickets are $3.75 to $5.25 on the island, one-way. Check the link to confirm rates and zones.
- In a hilarious twist of irony, an unrelated CP Rail labour conflict may cause delays on the Blainville, Dorion and Delson train lines. The Deux-Montagnes line is unaffected (it’s run by CN).
- Just in case you thought it couldn’t get worse, the AMT is coincidentally experiencing technical problems with its diesel-powered trains the likes of which it hasn’t seen in decades.
- Transit service in Laval (STL) and the south shore (RTL) as well as other off-island-run services are unaffected. In fact, the STL will be increasing service on lines that come onto the island to compensate for the STM strike, including running their night-time shuttle between Montmorency and Henri-Bourassa during the daytime when metro service is not running in Laval.
- Paratransit service is considered essential and will run on a normal schedule.
Cancelled services
- Night buses will not be running (they all fall out of the service periods)
- School extras (special buses added to handle increased loads from people leaving classes) will be suspended. So if you take the bus with lots of other people from high school, consider other transportation options or a long wait.
The demands
The STM is demanding/offering a five-year contract with:
- Pension eligibility be reduced by five years (meaning you’ll have to work five years longer, or be five years older, before you qualify for the same benefits)
- Reduced pension benefits for those retiring after 2019
- No salary increase this year
- A 2% salary increase for each of the next four years
The union wants a three-year contract with:
- No changes to pensions (they’ve since offered to take the cost for this out of the salary increase)
- A 2% salary increase for each of the next three years plus cost-of-living protection which would add on another 1-3% per year
The history
2,142 maintenance workers, who comprise people like mechanics and janitorial staff but not bus drivers, metro booth operators or supervisors, last went on strike in November of 2003. That strike lasted 8 days. Their latest contract ended Jan. 6, 2007, and they voted to strike on March 4. On May 6 they set the date for the strike.
There have been 15 transit strikes in the past 40 years. The longest was in 1974 when maintenance workers shut down the metro (but not buses) for 44 days.
The politics
Both sides are trying to win this battle in the court of public opinion. The STM took out a full-page ad in Wednesday’s papers.
The union says:
- They are paid less than private-sector counterparts
- They have been open to negotiating at any time (while the STM team goes home at 5 p.m.)
- They are paid less and get less benefits than Laval transit maintenance workers
- They have already made concessions and are willing to end the strike even with only partial concessions from the STM
- The strike is our fault
- Other arguments summarized on this blog post
The STM says:
- The deal they offered is the same one being given to other city unions
- They have a $22 million deficit this year and can’t afford more money
- The union has been without a contract for only a few months and are “taking the city hostage”
- Their benefits package (especially the pension) make up for any salary difference with private-sector maintenance workers
So far most people are on the STM’s side, noting that $22-$25 an hour is a lot to pay someone to clean vomit off a metro station floor, and that those suffering from this strike are mostly the poor and working class.
The media have come largely on the STM’s side as well, with The Gazette, La Presse (again) and Le Devoir all printing editorials saying the union already has the rights it needs and the strike is overkill. Of course, the crazy union lefties don’t like that idea.
The law
This is a perfectly legal strike. The government has the power, through special legislation, to force and end to the disruption or force a settlement. However, a mutually-agreeable settlement is far preferable to this drastic action. Though some people suggest that charter rights have somehow been violated, no court has ruled that convenient public transit is a charter right.
Your employer has no obligation to change any working conditions due to the strike. This includes changing your schedule, compensating you for cab use, providing alternative transportation, or anything else you might think you deserve because you work at odd hours. You’re still responsible for getting to work on time and working whatever hours you’ve agreed to. Unless public transit is part of your job somehow, the strike becomes your problem, not theirs.
You may be eligible for a partial refund of your monthly or weekly transit pass once this is over. After the 2003 strike, the STM offered a $5 discount for the following February 2004 bus pass ($2.50 for reduced-fare passes). Three years later, it settled a class action lawsuit and discounted $2 off the November 2006 transit pass ($1 off the reduced pass). Hold on to this week’s/month’s pass in case it becomes necessary. Note, however, that it could be a while before you see anything, and it won’t be that much.
Alternatives
Among the more interesting alternatives, CJAD is turning this into an opportunity for a publicity stunt, offering a free shuttle from the West Island to downtown during the strike (between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.).
The Journal today has a list of ride-sharing services, where you can offer and look for a partner to carpool with. And there’s always communauto, which is bound to be busier than normal.
As expected, at least one taxi driver (whose blog is apparently the second-most influential in Quebec) is going to profit heavily from very angry people.
How about informal taxis? Hitch-hike with a tip in hand.
Protests
Though it won’t get you to your destination any faster, writing angry letters might help alleviate your stress a bit.
Or if that’s too much for you, just join the “I don’t support the strike” Facebook group. Or the other “I don’t support the strike” Facebook group. Or the other one. Or the other one. Or this one. Or that one. Or the one over there. Or this one right here. Or this group. Or that group. Or this one. Or that one. Or that one. Or, if you support the strike, join the lone Facebook group that’s taking their side.
So far at least one online petition has started up demanding the government legislate an end to the strike.
The first (and only) attempted protest against the strike by concerned citizens is planned for Thursday at 4pm at Emily-Gamelin Park (aka Berri Square, corner Berri and Ste-Catherine). It was an utter failure, with only three people showing up (not including the media).
Finally, just to balance things out, here’s an interesting blog post arguing that the union’s demands are justified in the big picture.
Say goodbye to the 21 and 23 … nevermind, you won’t miss them
Now that they’ve been in service for almost a year, the STM will be evaluating the “senior” buses running through Côte-des-Neiges (21) and NDG (23), and disappointment with their popularity might lead to them being cancelled.
Is anyone surprised? Let’s go over why these routes were a bad idea in the first place:
- They run only on Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., meaning you have to set your weekly schedule around them.
- They run only every 50-55 minutes, which means you can spend almost an hour waiting for a bus.
- They only stop where the STM thinks you want to go. So unless you live in a big apartment building and want to go to Loblaws, you’re out of luck.
- The routes are confusing, even for me. Instead of going up and down a street like the very popular 105, they take wild loops around everywhere, passing on many major streets in only one direction, meaning you might have to go in the opposite direction of where you want to go.
- You can’t find them listed if you go to the STM site and search for bus schedules. The only way to find them is to download the PDF flyers and search for departure times.
These routes, which were launched with much fanfare last June, were quite possibly the worst the STM have ever come up with, and that showed after the initial novelty quickly wore off with seniors.
What’s hilarious about this is that the borough mayor, Michael Applebaum, is worried about wasting money. Why? Each route uses only a single bus for four hours a week. Compared to the cost of running a single regular route (like, say, the underused 138), it’s barely a drop in the bucket.
Next time, focus less on the colour of the bus stops and more on how useful a new line will really be to users. There’s nothing special about seniors that will cause them to embrace crap.
The strike is on, unless the union caves
Le Devoir has an opinion from STM chair Claude Trudel explaining the company side of the labour dispute that will take public transit off the road on Tuesday morning.
While it’s obvious he’s sugarcoating his own position on the matter, it’s hard to see how the STM doesn’t have the upper hand on this. Public opinion is on their side, despite valiant efforts by maintenance workers to justify the $22-25 an hour they’re paid (plus overtime) to keep 40-year-old equipment running smoothly for hundreds of thousands of kilometres per year. And the city’s position, that everyone has to get the same deal, makes sense. And it’s not like the STM is swimming in profit either.
When the strike starts at 12:01am Tuesday morning (or perhaps more accurately at 1:01am since they’re supposed to have late-night service), people will have to find alternative ways to get around:
- Taxi drivers will get a much-needed funding boost
- Bicycle use will skyrocket (also because of the nice weather)
- Commuter train use will be even more unbearable than it already is (ATM is unaffected by the STM maintenance workers’ strike, however the Blainville, Rigaud and Delson lines might see delays because of an unrelated CP rail strike)
- People might actually decide to get out and walk to places
Most importantly, the strike will send people back to their cars, and may convince some people that the uncertainty of public transit isn’t worth leaving their SUV at home.