Bus route rejigging runs into resistance
The rejigging of bus routes in southwestern Montreal, set to go into force on August 26, is already unpopular with some users. Maybe it’s the kind of change that always runs into some resistance, or maybe some of the decisions are bad – it’s difficult to tell from this piece.
Em 09:46 on 2024-06-25 Permalink
As I understand it, my bus service will vastly improve. I’ll go from a line that passes once every 30 minutes, to one that’s a 10 minute max during rush hour. So the changes aren’t all bad.
Nicholas 10:45 on 2024-06-25 Permalink
It is often that. People learn habits and when those are disrupted people get annoyed instinctively. But then they learn new habits and often it’s fine, sometimes better. It can be hard to visualize a new system both on a map but also the frequency of service, which is not public yet from what I understand, other than the
1012 minutes max service.The most common valid complaint is usually related to path dependency. You have a job, so you get an apartment that is on a bus line that goes right to that job. You stop at a fruiterie on that line on the way home. You build your life around the different options you have. Then the system changes, and maybe more homes are on a frequent bus line to that job, and maybe more jobs are on your new bus line, but yours isn’t. Maybe now a different fruiterie is more convenient, so you lose that personal connection. So the life you set up is disrupted, and you have to make changes. That’s something that averages won’t show: you need individual trips of everyone, and that data doesn’t exist.
So yes, some changes will be worse, but if they did this right, more people will be like Em, and get better service, but unlike Em may not be able to visualize it yet.
Blork 12:40 on 2024-06-25 Permalink
What @Nicholas said. (Well said.)
The other observation here is that the La Presse article should be taken with a grain of salt. Basically, they’re just looking for something to say about it, and the only people making any noise are the ones who are negatively affected by this — and they are most likely the minority, by far.
It’s a bit like reporting on a food store that has slashed its prices in half for cash-only payments, and La Presse writes a report that only talks about the people who don’t live near an ATM. That’s worth mentioning, but it’s not THE story.
jeather 15:40 on 2024-06-25 Permalink
Are they really going to go back to these people and see if any of them found it actually wasn’t a problem?
Kate 17:06 on 2024-06-25 Permalink
Nah. News tends to get slow between St‑Jean and the rentrée so some journalists will be sent out to make stories out of people grousing.
Blork 17:34 on 2024-06-25 Permalink
It’s “what about-ism” elevated to “journalism.”
John B 19:54 on 2024-06-25 Permalink
I sometimes use the 37 to get from southern Verdun to St-Henri, and that will no longer be possible, which will suck.
However I use the 107 much more frequently if I want to rush to the metro station, and it’s going to be a high-frequency route, and be extended to the west so I can get almost to the Parc des Rapides if I want, that’s great.
Overall these changes are a big win for me – unless I stop walking to the metro and therefore stop exercising.