STM to distribute 600,000 free masks to riders

Montreal’s transit authority will distribute free face masks to commuters in the coming weeks as the city reduces COVID-19 confinement measures and thousands of riders are expected to flood back onto métros and buses.

The Société de transport de Montréal is “strongly recommending” all users wear masks or face coverings, but is not making it obligatory as has been done in other jurisdictions, including all of France.

The decision is in keeping with recommendations from Montreal’s public health department and the mayor of Montreal, who argued it would be too onerous to have police and inspectors enforce the rules, STM head Philippe Schnobb said.

“I think there will be a social pressure that will develop that will encourage people to wear it.”

The STM, in conjunction with other regional transit authorities and the city of Montreal, is in the process of buying 600,000 masks from local suppliers and hopes to start distributing them by the time Montreal is scheduled to loosen confinement measures on May 25. Officials said they do not know the costs yet. The STM will also give two washable masks to each of its employees.

Lionel Perez, interim leader of opposition party Ensemble Montréal, said it’s “a little bit utopic” to think riders will change habits voluntarily, and that the STM is risking lives by not making masks mandatory in the epicentre of the COVID -19 pandemic in Canada.

“Before you’re able to change habits, you have to change the rules. Then the rules become the new norm,” Perez said.

“With deconfinement coming in two weeks, hundreds of thousands of people will be going back to work on public transit. It’s basically a ticking time bomb, with the risk that people not wearing masks, who may be asymptomatic, start boarding crowded public transit and infecting others, creating a spike that leads to a second wave.”

Other measures taken by the STM to prepare for a return to normal service include shifting 200 professional staff to cleaning duties, joining 170 office workers and 60 students who have been aiding regular maintenance staff with disinfecting buses and métros daily. A new cohort of security staff is being hired to ensure riders respect social distancing rules as much as possible.

The transit authority is also starting a “heart campaign.” It will be distributing heart-shaped badges in red and green for commuters to wear as a sign of support and appreciation for transit workers and all essential service workers who have remained on the job throughout the pandemic.

Métros are back to running on regular schedules, and buses will work on a summer schedule, with 1,225 buses running at rush hour. For the time being, passengers will still board buses from the back, but barriers are to be gradually installed behind drivers, which will allow entrance from the front. The STM reduced service by 20 per cent in late March.

The transit authority is also working on a system to allow payment for individual tickets by credit or debit to lessen interaction with ticket takers, Schnobb said — an evolution that has been promised for a while now. He could not say when it would be implemented. The STM also plans to transmit information on how many riders are on incoming buses or trains, to allow passengers to decide whether they want to board.

The STM is working with the Chamber of Commerce and the city to encourage businesses to stagger work hours where possible to lessen rush-hour crowds, and to encourage working from home as much as possible.

With most schools and offices closed during the outbreak, transit ridership has dropped significantly, with 91 per cent fewer people taking the métro. Bus ridership is down by 82 per cent, while adapted transit is down 88 per cent.