STM reports drastic drop in métro and bus rides
Once a rare site in Montreal has become a regular occurrence: empty buses and métro cars.
The Société de transport de Montréal reported Wednesday that since the COVID-19 outbreak in the region its ridership has dwindled by 80 per cent on its métro network and 70 per cent for buses. Adapted transit trips have dropped 75 per cent, spokesperson Philippe Déry said.
Despite the drastic drop, the transit agency has continued to deploy its full fleet of buses and métro cars, Déry said. The only exception has been special buses that serve schools since classes across the province were cancelled on March 13.
Déry said STM managers are analyzing the current level of service and working on a plan to scale it back, but he did not say when that would happen. Despite the drastic reduction in service, the STM has no intention to temporarily lay off any employees.
The situation is similar for buses in Longueuil and Laval. Ridership has declined by 65 per cent on both the Réseau de transport de Longueuil and the Société de transport de Laval. In Laval, ridership on adapted transit service has plummeted 85 per cent. Those agencies have also not yet reduced their bus service, but they are re-evaluating the service given to customers.
Exo, the commuter rail and bus authority, has noted a roughly 90 per cent drop in its ridership for trains. Bus ridership is down about 80 per cent and adapted transit riders are also down about 90 per cent. Some train departures have been cancelled, but the trains continue to run with the same number of cars to enable users can maximize the distance between them, Exo spokesperson Catherine Maurice said.
There has been no change in the bus service so far, but Exo is working on a plan to reduce that service and will make an announcement in the coming days.
Transit has been deemed an essential service by the provincial government and as such it can’t be shut down. Since the beginning of March, all transit agencies announced they had stepped up hygiene measures. Despite assurances that the risk of being infected by COVID-19 on a bus, métro or train were low, agencies have taken measures to ensure social distancing between passengers and measures to protect transit workers. Déry said only one STM employee was reported to be infected with COVID -19 and that person was an administrative worker at the Legendre maintenance garage.
The reduction in riders is sure to cause a major dent in the finances of the transit agencies. Fares represent 40 per cent of the revenue of the governing autorité regionale de transport métropolitain, which doles out financing to the individual transit providers.
ARTM spokesperson Simon Charbonneau said transit agencies won’t run out money to finance their operations.
“We can assure citizens that we will be able to keep the service operational while minimizing the risks to the health of customers, employees and partners as well as suppliers,” Charbonneau wrote in an email response. He added that it’s too early at this point to ask for government help to cushion the financial blow.
Charbonneau said the ARTM is examining how those who purchased monthly passes for March can be reimbursed for adhering to the provincial government’s order to stay home.
As for those who purchased a year’s worth of monthly passes, the only way to get a refund on their April passes is to cancel before March 31. However, that would mean cancelling the subscription for the rest of the year, which would mean losing all subscription privileges, like a month of free transit.
“We strongly recommend that users avoid this approach if they can,” Charbonneau said. “With our partners, we are still discussing solutions that could help subscribers while maintaining their subscription privileges.”
Charbonneau said an announcement on compensation for annual OPUS subscribers will be made in the coming days.