STM on bended knees
Quebec is not listening as the STM begs for money without which its services will face drastic cuts soon.
As we’ve all discussed here, and as we all know, cutting transit when it’s down has consequences that can rebound for a generation or more. Anyone who can drive but who’s been stood up on a cold street corner too many times by a bus that doesn’t show up would be a saint if they didn’t dream of car ownership.
Michael 12:46 on 2022-12-06 Permalink
This is the natural consequence of work from home. People staying home and not travelling as much anymore. I don’t see how its sustainable to keep the pre-covid schedules up…
Meezly 12:56 on 2022-12-06 Permalink
STM should beg for money, but they should also come up with a long-term plan on how they can continue to sustain public transport. One of which should include a complete redesign of their bus routes (which a few of us discussed in another thread) so that they can run continuously and independently from the metro system. And consolidate the routes that tend to end or start downtown. It *should* theoretically reduce the number of routes, but the routes themselves are more efficient because the buses don’t serve as dropoffs and pickups for the metro but serve to get passengers where they need to to without having to make unnecessary and ridiculous connections.
Kate 17:09 on 2022-12-06 Permalink
Meezly, you’re right. The STM should start a process of adapting to current reality rather than making the assumption that everything will soon be “back to normal” because it won’t be. People are working from home and/or have been viscerally spooked by the unavoidable human proximity of public transit, and that’s not going to go away. They need to do some quick studies about how and when people are travelling now and put their resources in the right places.
Kevin 20:53 on 2022-12-06 Permalink
It can’t help when the business group of the central city is convinced workers need to come back downtown at the same rate as 2019 in order for everything to be viable.
steph 09:21 on 2022-12-07 Permalink
I used to travel to work downtown by public transit 5 days a week. Now I’m forced to do it 2 days. Plainly, I need the service to be as reliable on those 2 days. If it becomes 7 days of a handicapped “weekend schedule” we’re in for a rough time…
Please Legault, tell your conceil du tresor to let me work from home 5 days. let that be the new ‘viable’ model. – don’t worry, I’ll still spend all my money, I will just do it more locally instead of downtown (not that I did anyways because I can’t afford avocato toast and starbucks coffee)