For the first time, the metropolitan community has adopted a housing policy, focusing on social housing and the needs of different kinds of households.
Updates from November, 2022 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
CBC talked to Expo 67 historian Roger Laroche about the loss of the last operating Minirail.
(did Matt Galloway really say “How big of a deal….”? Yuck.)
Ian
It really was a fun little ride and a real godsend when visiting the park with small children, the ferris wheel is off at the far end of the park from the entrance…
It’s sad (and frankly a bit gross) how many of the older rides are closed or in poor repair. Like, when was the last time the calliope worked on the carousel, or the Haunted House ride was actually in operation?
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Kate
Bixi says its numbers were up 55% and membership up 30% in the recent season.
Meezly
BIXI was definitely more reliable than the bus.
Poutine Pundit
It wasn’t more reliable than the bus. Offer has not kept up with demand. The station next to my place never had any bikes available.
Meezly
I’m speaking of my own experience, not everyone’s. At least with BIXI, I could consult the map to find the nearest station with bikes.
The bus app I was using completely threw me off, even with GPS. It kept saying in 10 minutes, 5, 2… 1…, and the bus never showed. Complete waste of time. If I knew the bus would be a no-show, I could’ve just taken a BIXI and not be so late to where I needed to go!
Sure, maybe during rush hour there would be a dearth of BIXIs in a given area, but the times when I waited for a bus that never showed, I was able to find a BIXI.
DeWolf
Poutine Pundit and I have the same Bixi station and it was a nightmare all summer. I’d say it was empty about 90 percent of the time. And so were many of the nearby situations, to the point where I’d often have to walk 15 minutes out of my way just to get a bike.
I also remember going out very late one night with some friends during the Francos. We closed out a bar in Chinatown, which was fun because I can’t remember the last time that happened, but after getting some post-drinking food, we realized there were absolutely no Bixis anywhere downtown or on the lower Plateau. Taxis were scarce, Uber was surge pricing insanity, and we didn’t want to be crammed onto a night bus, so we ended up walking an hour up to Gilford before we found a station that had any bikes at all. And weirdly, returning to my always-empty station, we found it… nearly empty. Where were people going with all the bikes?
Kate
At the beginning of the season Bixi was practically begging people to work for them, so I presume they never managed to hire enough folks to drive the truck-trailers that move bikes around. Which isn’t an excuse but it might explain the problem.
DeWolf
Yeah, it was a perfect storm. A huge surge in ridership along with a staff shortage. Things did get much better in September and October.
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Kate
I’m trying to make sense of this story, which even a lawyer cited in the text says is a very rare circumstance: the police brotherhood is suing the city of Montreal for not investigating sources of risk in police parking lots, and not making them safer for police to use. Thing is, who would the city consult on making things safe, besides the police themselves?
steph
Maybe we can pay cops minimum wage and use the rest of the money to give them protection? /Reductio ad absurdum
Marco
Maybe take away the parking lots until this is settled. Cops can take public transit.
Ephraim
Are the police paying to use the parking lots? If they are, they can have an expectation. But if they aren’t, it’s a work benefit and it is 100% taxable as a benefit to them under Quebec law and has to be reported by the city on their tax forms. Maybe some of the reporters should investigate that… ask the brotherhood about that…
Hub
so the city now can use something like metapolice– supercops that can protect those everyday cops.
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Kate
A reduction in transit service from the STM is being considered for next year because ridership is not showing signs of returning to pre‑pandemic levels.
Daniel D
I think this is understandable. I hope the reduction in frequency isn’t accompanied by a reduction in reliability. If I had to choose between the two, reliability would win out every time.
Em
Wonder how this is related to making service free for seniors next year.
While I understand they may have no choice, it’s also a chicken and egg scenario. They reduce service because not enough people take transit. Consequently, even fewer people take transit.
My personal feeling is that a bus that comes less than once every 15-20 minutes will not be used as a primary option for anyone with another choice.
Joey
Seems a lot of bus-riders opted for (probably electric) Bixis this year: https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand-montreal/2022-11-24/records-d-achalandage-et-de-membres-pour-bixi-en-2022.php
Ridership up 55%, membership up 30%.
DeWolf
Ridership will never recover if service keeps getting cut.
Ian
unreliable, uncomfortable … and underfunded. Gee I wonder why ridership isn’t bouncing back.
DeWolf is absolutely right, this is precisely the worst thing to do to the system right now.
This also plays into why people aren’t flocking back to their office jobs. If you can’t rely on regular service it isn’t a practical option for commuters except those who have literally no other choice.
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