January 22nd, 2009
Public transit up in 2008: STM
By Jacob Larsen // 10 Comments
Photo courtesy of Jery 'Riverman' on flickr
According to recent figures released by the STM, transit ridership in Montreal was up in 2008. And not insignificantly, either.
In Montreal, there were 4% more passengers; in Laval, the number was even higher at 6.4%; and in Longueuil it was 4.35% higher. The two most obvious factors for this increase are the Laval metro stops and the quickly rising cost of gasoline, but increasing environmental concern has been cited as a factor as well.
With another 2% projected increase in 2009, the STM is going to have an additional $10 million at its disposal, according to figures from the Conseil Régional de Montréal. This is great news, but with the price of gas at five year lows, I wonder if the STM is going to be able to entice their new clientele to stay on the bus before they go back to their cars?
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One other factor in whether or not to take public transit was brought home to me this morning, not 10 minutes before reading this post: safety.
At the Cremazie metro station, north side exit, I was a witness to -- and helped to stop -- what I can only describe as a homophobic swarming of a gay man by kids, right in broad daylight, during this morning's rush hour.
No blows were exchanged, fortunately. But the man was pelted with garbage as he tried to get on the bus.
Apparently, it started when a lone Black kid had called him a "faggot," as young men apparently need to do, and the man responded by giving him heck and swatting at him with his newspaper. So the kid runs inside and gets about a dozen buddies and all hell ensues.
I was part of a line of passengers waiting to get on the 460. I stepped to the man's side and loudly and insistently told the kids to leave him alone. No one else said or did anything. This all happened within view of the bus driver, who also did nothing.
Upon arriving at work, I called 911 to report the incident and ask that they consider stepping up security, as it's not the first time I've noticed gangs of kids hanging around this metro station in the morning and getting into mischief.
The 911 operator said he would report it, but then he surprised me by not wanting to take my name. Seems to me that when I've called 911 before, even for less important things, they have often asked me for my name. I wonder how seriously they're going to take this.
Oh, and when we boarded the bus, all in one piece, the passenger in front of me has her morning Metro open and what do I see? A story on a woman who was left permanently disfigured when she was badly beaten on the metro. Check it out if you haven't seen it. It's heartbreaking.
So, yeah: safety. Add that to the list of whether to take public transit or choose the relative safety of one's own car. I don't own a car, so for me it's not an option....
Si seulement 10% des totomobilistes décident de prendre le transport en commun à Montréal, la STM sera bien mal prise parce qu’elle n’a pratiquement pas d’autobus de disponibles pour augmenter le service.
Même chose pour l’AMT, elle doit louer des vieilles voitures à gauche et à droite pour assurer un service minimal.
The snowy winter we had last year (especially compared to the previous year) might also account for the increase. I use public transport more often when I can't/won't bike so after snowstorms or when it is very cold. I'm sure it's the same with people with cars that don't want to dig out their cars or worry they can't park it near their work due to the snow.
The STM sucks, they have a huge budget surplus, ridership is up but:
• Fares keep going up.
• It still costs extra to use the Laval stations.
• Opus makes bus boarding lines move slower and doesn't seem to have any real advantage over the magcards. (They sure spent a lot of our money on it though!)
• Despite augmenting schedules, they still haven't solved the "bus that just doesn't show up" issue.
There's a bright side at least, it seems the STM is forgoing the traditional strike this year.
Shawn, what a horrible story. There are a lot of highschool kids at Crémazie and Jarry when schools let out - at Jarry they are converging from two or three different schools.
We really need trams on the busiest lines. Now that the Pins-Parc échangeur is no longer an obstacle, avenue du Parc should be a priority.
Well, I guess we should consider ourselves lucky. I read Maria's comment and navigated away to the Globe and see this:
Shawn:
WOW. That is ridiculous.
It would be nice to have more security around.
instead the cops are sitting in their cars waiting for someone at 1 in the afternoon who decides to do a super quick stop at a stop sign or who parks their car, or someone who's 'speeding'.
They should instead, like you said, be at the metro stations, bus terminals, etc.
Tux:
"The STM sucks, they have a huge budget surplus, ridership is up but:"
Est ce que t'es sérieux? La STM est défficitaire d'année en année. Pourquoi tu penses qu'on a encore des rames de métro qui datent des années 60?
Je pense pas que la STM ait fait de profit dans les 10 dernières années.
Actually, if you moved to Toronto, you'd realize how good the STM is. And to bring in trams! &@#$! - Gosh, the streetcars in Toronto are the worst imaginable form of transit. Why in heaven's name would anyone propose afflicting the great city of Montreal with such an abomination!
They won't get people on public transit if they aren't efficient which is what they should be thinking about in this new year.
So far, just in January I've waited at the bus stop and buses failed to show up. Yesterday 3 buses failed to show, finally a random bus from another station had to come pick up the massive line up of people.
In this weather, that's just not cool.
Comment by Steph
January 22, 2009 | 8:59 am