STM grounds over 180 articulated buses due to cooling issues
Posted October 31, 2025 12:26 pm.
Last Updated October 31, 2025 3:24 pm.
Montreal’s public transit agency (STM) is pulling 181 articulated buses off the roads temporarily due to cooling system failure, the agency said Friday.
STM said it is currently inspecting the hybrid buses as a preventive measure and carrying out repairs after detecting the failure in one of the buses.
“This may result in additional crowding and service disruptions on some lines,” STM said in a press release.
STM bus service was already expected to be affected by strike by maintenance workers from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28.
At a press conference to update on the strikes Friday, Marie-Claude Léonard, director general of STM said she estimated that approximately one per cent of services were affected by the grounding of the vestibule buses. “We delivered 99 per cent of services, despite the articulated buses,” she said.
In an email, STM said it would replace the buses undergoing inspection and repairs with regular buses but that it could lead to crowding.
“However, we add extra buses when possible to help the situation,” said a spokesperson for the STM.
The affected vehicles are part of a 220-fleet hybrid bus manufactured by Nova Bus. STM said it was working with Nova Bus to resolve the issue.
“We are doing everything possible to minimize service impacts and to obtain the replacement parts needed to complete repairs over the coming days,” said Nathalie Clément, STM’s executive director of Planning, service delivery and customer experience.
— With files from The Canadian Press
