‘We are aware of the impact’: What bus, metro services available during upcoming 9-day strike?

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) provided an update on Wednesday morning on the essential services that will be offered during the upcoming strike by their maintenance workers’ union next week — encouraging its customers to use active transportation and work remotely during this period.

Public transit services across Montreal are expected to be significantly reduced from June 9 to 17, as the 2,400 workers are expected to walkout.

“We are in discussions, we are in the process of finding solutions,” said STM Director General, Marie-Claude Léonard at the press conference.

“We proposed bringing a facilitator to the table to speed up the discussions,” she added. “So the discussions are continuing.”

The STM has created a website specifically to inform its customers about network status, the latest updates, and important information regarding the possible strike.

School lines, specifically designed to serve schools, would be maintained during the strike.

No compensation is provided for users who purchased monthly or weekly passes.

“We really are aware of significant impact of this strike on our customers. We are doing everything in our power to minimize these impacts,” Léonard added.

Essential services would be maintained during the strike by the Société de transport de Montréal Maintenance Employees Union, from June 9 to 17, but the operating schedules of the metro and bus network will be significantly modified.

She added that the STM’s financial situation requires it to ensure “it is fair,” and “this must be reflected in the current collective agreement negotiations to respect the paying capacity of our funders.”

Use of Subcontracting

The union and the employer have met more than 75 times since the fall. The introduction of subcontracting and the transfer of certain tasks to the private sector are part of the negotiations.

“We must consider what is outside our mission” and “what is not part of our core business,” said Léonard.

Asked to give examples of activities that should be outsourced, the Director General explained that the STM had accumulated, over time, snow removal trucks, landscaping vehicles, a garbage truck, and a wastewater vacuum truck.

Maintaining these vehicles, she pointed out, is not part of the STM’s mission, which is to move Montrealers.

“We need to review our work methods” and “focus on providing services,” Léonard argued.

Aside from the use of outsourcing, the union cited several points of contention, including the creation of atypical schedules —evenings, nights, and weekends—and the possibility of moving employees from one facility to another.

Many Montrealers Citynews spoke to were unaware of the schedule changes nor on the overall strike. One Montrealer voiced their support for workers despite the inconvenience the strike may cause.

“[It’s] frustrating I rely on public transport every day and Montreal’s transport is very good, so please do everything they can to keep it open,” says a Montreal commuter.

“The message needs to be clear, it needs to be specific and we need details,” said another commuter.

Service Schedule

For the first three days of the strike, June 9, 10, and 11, buses and metro trains will only run during morning and afternoon rush hours, as well as late evening. There will be no service outside of these periods.

On June 12, service will be provided at 100 per cent during peak periods, which will be extended by one hour, and at 50 per cent outside of these periods.

During the Formula 1 Grand Prix, which will take place from June 13 to 15, service will be maintained at its usual level. In their agreement submitted to the Administrative Labour Tribunal, both parties acknowledged that this event significantly increases public transit ridership.

Finally, on June 16 and 17, service will be provided at 100 per cent during peak periods and 50 per cent outside of them, but peak hours will return to their schedule at the start of the strike.

“We’re still having conversations with all of the unions. The four other unions, the three other unions at the table right now. We’re both having conversations and we hope we can go through this without the strike,” says STM senior director of Operations Christopher Kranjec.

The Syndicat du transport de Montréal represents 2,400 members at the STM, including mechanics and maintenance workers. Their president, Bruno Jeannotte, says they’ve been fighting to keep their services public and improve their working conditions with the STM since last March.

“The STM’s 2,400 maintenance employees have no choice but to prepare to strike in the face of their employer’s stubbornness,” he said in a statement to CityNews. “For weeks, we’ve been hammering home the employer’s message that if it wants to attract and retain staff, it must abandon its obsession with cutting our working conditions.”

[Info grève] En prévision de la grève du personnel d’entretien, du 9 au 17 juin, la STM a apporté des précisions quant aux services essentiels qui seront en vigueur.

Communiqué ➡️ https://t.co/OOj7wReb4O pic.twitter.com/eH873ft7LR

— STM (@stm_nouvelles) June 4, 2025

The union says that in recent days it has contacted the STM several times to demand the withdrawal of numerous setbacks to working conditions.

The STM persists in maintaining its demands regarding the creation of atypical schedules and the relocation of employees throughout its facilities, the union explained.

Adding that for their part, maintenance employees are proposing several solutions to improve recruitment at the STM, notably by curbing the use of subcontracting and privatization, by improving work-life balance and by implementing measures to attract and retain staff.

“After more than a year of negotiations, it’s time for some action at the table,” said Jeannotte. “The ball is now in the STM’s court.”

—With files from The Canadian Press, first published in French and translated by CityNews