Transfer of STM adapted transport: union launches campaign
Posted February 11, 2025 4:36 pm.
The union representing bus drivers and metro operators in Montreal is launching a campaign to preserve public adapted transport, following the STM’s announcement that it would transfer the service to external partners.
The union said that the Société de transport de Montréal is “axing” its adapted transport service and “abandoning its most vulnerable users.”
During its announcement on Feb. 6, the STM indicated that 90 per cent of adapted transport trips were already provided by the cab industry. The process it has begun, and intends to complete by early 2026, aims to transfer the remaining 10 per cent to external partners, while retaining the STM’s reservation, management and customer service functions.
Caught in a difficult financial situation, the STM expects to make recurring savings of $15 million a year.
However, this decision has raised concerns for the Syndicat des chauffeurs d’autobus et opérateurs de métro — a local of the FTQ-affiliated Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
The union points out that the users of this adapted transport service, rather than cabs, are precisely “the most serious cases” and “cannot be handled by regular vans or cabs.”
It also points out that the 130 drivers assigned to this service receive five weeks’ training in providing service. “What’s more, STM drivers are paid by the hour, not by the trip, which changes the relationship” with the user, the union points out.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
