Montrealers are happiest transit users in Canada
But many worry system not planning well enough for city’s future growth
Among residents of Canada’s largest cities, Montrealers are the most satisfied with their current level of public transit service, but also among the most concerned not enough is being done to accommodate future population growth.
Montrealers are also among the least likely to say their transit service is frequent, reliable or that their fellow users are polite.
In a Forum Research poll of 1,936 transit users from Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver conducted in late May, 76 per cent of Montreal respondents said they were either very satisfied (29 per cent) or somewhat satisfied (47 per cent). Vancouverites were also relatively happy with their level of service, with 73 per cent expressing satisfaction. Calgary (70 per cent), Toronto (68 per cent) and Edmonton (66 per cent) registered the lowest scores.
But on more specific aspects of the public transit system, the city often scored lower than its urban counterparts. Asked whether transit is being planned with future growth in mind, fewer than one in three Montreal respondents (31 per cent) said yes. Only Vancouver was lower, with 29 per cent, while Toronto scored 33 per cent. In Calgary, nearly 50 per cent of those polled said their transit system was being well planned.
The issue of métro and bus overcrowding has been a staple of Montreal news for months, with rising concern over a lack of shortterm solutions to combat the issue, particularly on the métro’s Orange Line. Those most likely to say not enough is being done include those earning $100,000 to $250,000 (92 per cent) and cyclists (93 per cent).
“Montreal came out No. 1 in terms of overall satisfaction,” said Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research Inc. “Now this is a bit of a low bar to get over, because it includes people that are somewhat satisfied. You could say: ‘Oh, gee, only 29 per cent are very satisfied.’ ...
“But I did note that when you do look into the details, the Montreal system didn’t do well in a lot of different aspects. So overall, people are the happiest with it, but they’re not the happiest with any of the individual items we looked at.”
Vancouver and Calgary’s transit systems were rated the cleanest by poll respondents, while Montreal finished in the middle of the pack, with 75 per cent saying they thought the system was either very clean (22 per cent) or somewhat clean (53 per cent).
While 82 per cent of Toronto riders said service on their system was frequent, only 68 per cent of Montrealers thought so, putting it in fourth place, with Edmonton at the bottom.
Montreal also took fourth place in terms of reliability, with 76 per cent rating service as very or somewhat reliable. Vancouver came in first place at 80 per cent, followed by Calgary (78 per cent) and Toronto (77 per cent).
Toronto riders were the most likely to say they often experience unexpected delays, followed by Edmonton and then Montreal, where 45 per cent of respondents said it happened often or somewhat often. Calgarians and Montrealers were the most apt to say their service provides good value for the money.
While the majority of respondents nationwide said their fellow travellers are very or somewhat courteous, Montrealers were less apt to express this view, at 74 per cent. Torontonians were the least likely to characterize their fellow riders as courteous, at 69 per cent.
Bozinoff cautioned that responses varied greatly based on gender of the users and how often they used the system. While 79 per cent of men expressed overall satisfaction with Montreal’s system, only 73 per cent of women did so. Women were also far less likely to consider the system clean (61 per cent vs. 81 per cent for men) or to say the system was frequent enough, or reliable.
Regular users, who were likely more well-informed respondents, were also less likely than the general populace to rate Montreal’s system as reliable (68 per cent vs. 76 per cent), and more likely to say they had experienced unexpected delays.
“Montreal did well in the overall score, but I don’t think (the Société de transport de Montréal) should sit around and rest on their laurels,” Bozinoff said. “They need to think about drilling down into some of these other items, because in many areas they are in fourth or fifth place, so you have to think about that.”