The Gazette wants your transit complaints

28 comments

1. You, Fagstein and Tim who wrote in to Fagstein are right – it sounds fated to degenerate into a silly rant, not a forum for how to improve public transport in Montréal and surrounding areas.

   And “Squeaky Wheel” – Ça grince!

   The Gazette has done far, far better with Green Life and Kate Molleson’s bicycle blog.

   How about an analysis of how the extension of the métro line to Laval has changed traffic and commuting patterns? I have a friend in Laval who can now conveniently get to her job in Montréal via public transport, meaning one fewer car.

   Another important topic would be how and where to bring tramlines back to Montréal. The buses on av du Parc are utterly saturated and often stuck in bottlenecks, for example. Now that the Park-Pine interchange has been eliminated, it opens up the way to bringing back a tram.

2. Voyons donc, tu peux pas avoir un “bruise” pendant un mois à cause d’une portre de métro, ça se ferme vite mais pas fort.

   Cette fille la ment.

3. I am from Winnipeg and I’m here for the summmer to learn french in Montreal with the EXPLORE program. I purchased my metro pass the first day I was here and when I asked the man at the STM desk whether I could buy a student card he politely told me I had to be a resident of Quebec to qualify. So my husband and I purchased two OPUS cards and didn’t think twice about it.
   A week or so ago, a young girl from the same program, from a small town in Nova Scotia relayed a story to me that upset me. She said she bought a student metro pass for $33.00 at a local drug store (having not been told by the clerk behind the counter otherwise). She went to use it on the metro by herself late at night. One security guard asked her for her I.D. and when she was told her University of Montreal student I.D. wasn’t enough four more security guards surrounded her and pulled her to the side (giving her a bruise). They gave her a $200 ticket and told her that if she didn’t give them her home address in which to send it they would phone the cops, have her arrested and taken down to the police station.
   She was shaken up and crying telling me this story. I know from reading in the paper that a lot of fraud has been happening with the use of metro passes and tickets lately but use common sense and don’t tar everyone with the same brush. This was an 18 year old girl who had never been in a big city. I would also like to point out that for tourists and visiting students it is very hard to know what pass you can buy and which one you can’t, especially when you can purchase them anywhere. Why don’t they limit the number of stores that can sell them. I would like to know how to go about fighting metro tickets.

4. As I biked past a STM Bus driver, who was parked and reading a newspaper with his engine on, I said “coupez la moteur” (turn off your engine). He blew his horn at me and gave me the middle-finger on each hand. The STM’s complaint department is nearly inaccessible via telephone, being closed at 4:30 PM, and nobody you speak to after that point will take a complaint to pass along. commentaires@stm.info is nearly useless as a method to submit complaints, as I had to send the same email 4 times to get a response, which was an incomplete solution that was never implemented. I still see buses sitting there with their engines running on a frequent basis on De la Montagne, north of St-Jacques. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.

5. last week,i purchased two stm cards,which is the equivalent to 12 bus tickets – 6 each.the first card worked well,when i went to use the second card,i was able to punch in two fares.i travelled to the cote des neiges area on wednesday,october 22,and i noticed that my card did not register,when i placed it in the slot on the bus,but thought nothing of it then,as i have seen that sometimes most of the drivers either do not pay attention to the fares being tendered or they do not allow you to insert the card in the slot.
   on my way back home,i took the 165 bus near jean talon,and of course,my little card showed up RED,and of course,the bus driver started to give me a hard time.i explained and showed him that i had only used two tickets on the card,and he allowed me to enter the bus.i got to the guy metro station and explained the situation to the person in the ticket booth,they asked me to try it again and it still did not work,they also allowed me to pass through the turnstile.in the meantime,i am out 4 tickets on the card and i do not wish to try it again and be embarrassed.i also noticed that someone else has the same problem as i did, with their card.
   what is happening with this new system?is it still not efficient as yet?
   i am also going to contact the STM about this situation and to see if they can resolve this for me.
   i looked up at the previous comment and i read that the STM is unreachable.i will keep you posted.

6. What is the point of this new opus card which just pigeon holes people getting onto the bus and metro?
   You have people trying to get onto the bus, and their card is flashing red… and end up arguing with the bus drivers about how they charged their card, and it’s not working, all the while, keeping people waiting outside waiting to get in… what will happen during the winter? De L’eglise metro is horrible, the agents behind the booth are nasty, won’t let you through while they’re serving customers, meanwhile there’s only one other opus turn-stile and it’s bogged down by people trying to get on.
   With the magnetic strip cards, you were through the turn-stile in 3 seconds, with the opus card… up to 6 times the amount of time having to go through.

   Also, the South Shore transit computer systems for programming the Opus cards are not networked with the STM systems, I sometimes need to travel to the South Shore, and would like to program 6 tickets for the South Shore when i’d arrive after work at Namur metro for example. It would certainly save me time, instead of having to go all the way to Longueuil metro to buy the tickets. In the year 2008, I guess networking isn’t an option.

   These are smart cards… much like the sattelite cards, they’ve got EPROM’s.. Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, someone will come up with a device to program these cards, much like some people stealing ExpressVu signals. And they’ll spend millions trying to stay ahead of the STM pirates.
   They should have stayed with the magnetic strip cards…. ‘Nuff said.

7. I take the 17 bus from Cote Vertue every Friday, the bus is supposed to leave at 06:04. Many of us arrive early and wait because this bus only departs every 30 minutes.

   But for some unknown and unfair reason the bus never comes. And every Friday I go and ask the STM employee in his office “Where is the 17?” he yells out “It’s not coming Madame close de door”

   I have been late for work many times because of this
   and last Friday my boss sent me home because I was late. I can not afford to miss a day of work.
   Can somebody tell me what is going on with our bus service. It’s ruining me.

8. This STM system is out of control. the Opus card is a big time waste of our money and an even bigger inconvieniance.It wasn’t needed in the first place so I dont understand what purpose it serves or who it was designed for because it definitly wasnt us the people who need and use it atleast twice a day.The STM needs to put the money where it’s needed like the timing of the buses(160 to plamondon in the fist 2 cm of snow), their traction, the size and amount of buses, the quality of their employees(attitudes, language, and driving skills), bus sheds{ with garbage bins somewhere around them}, better advertisements on the new TV’s.But definetly not opus cards they are too easy to fraud cost more money and provide an invasion of privacy.these cards can even be scanned through pockets wallets and mostlikely purses too.How much money went to this investment exactly, and how come most of us didnt know about this new irrelevent system.plus Dec. 11 I waited over half an hour at Guy Concordia for the 165 which usually comes atleast every 5mins if not back to back( in less than -15) and the driver couldn’t even give me an excuse.whats up with that.

9. ….compared to Toronto’s transit system(…the TTC), the STM doesn’t even come close in terms of overall professionalism, employee courtiousness and general user-friendliness of the service: everything from bus-timing and supposed scheduling, to the ridiculous Opus card, to the general bad attitudes of the employees(not all….but way too many….). There needs to be continuous improvement and better people-skills training for the employees. Shame on the STM for making things difficult for those who pay for their “services” and wages….

   There’s much work to be done here in Montreal….& don’t get me started on the road conditions.

10. AMT need to fix the new expansion parking lot at ther Ile Perrot station.

    It was build on a 5 degree slope.. An its almost impossible to park. also its very challenging to walk..

    I mentioned to the AMT security guard this morning, after 24 hours of ice. He stated he had filed a complaint as he himself fell on the ice and injured his knee. On this point why does AMT have to guardians at this station each morning. The simpply say good morning, is the the olny service they provide.

    Also take a look at what is called a train station.
    The AMT guards force os off train property and make us share the road with 2 way traffic because of no side walks..

    WE need sand & salt in our Ile Perrot parking lot as a basic SAFTEY consideration.

11. The Montreal metro is a racket! What’s with the “weekly” CAM card? …You buy it on Saturday, and it expires on Sunday! Any other world-class city would stamp your card with the date on which you bought your week-long pass, and count to 7 (days) before expiring your purchase. Weekly, my a**! More like weakly…what a money grab!

    And the employees are kept in those glass cases for good reason…there they can be jerks and feel safe!

    The majority of the STM employees are bitter to the bone, having to work in these glass boxes all day, brains turning to mush, handing out tickets to visiting, happy anglophones, knowing that their jobs are better handled by machines – cost effective without the bad attitude.

    Soon they’ll all be replaced…oh, wait…being Montreal, that sort of move toward efficiency never develops

    I’ve seen so many useless altercations at the hands of these STM people, over-exercising their puny authority…what’s with the attitude that all STM users are criminals.

    Any opportunity the STM-under-glass employee finds to be a jerk, he’ll/she’ll take it…it’s their only recourse to feeling like they have some sort of power…the power of the jerk.

    sd

12. sideDoor is right about “And the employees are kept in those glass cases for good reason…there they can be jerks and feel safe!”

    I went to McGill metro and I just remembered I had to buy something so I went out and bought it. It really didn’t take long, it was less than 5 mins. My card wouldn’t let me pass obviously because I just used it. So the only way to get it in was for the STM employee to let me in .She wouldn’t even let me in! All she was doing was counting money. She said I had to wait 10-15 mins. I don’t want to waste my time waiting when she can simply push a little button.

    Another time, my boyfriend paid upon entering the bus and got a transfer. The bus ride lasted 15 mins max. When we finally got to the metro, his transfer didnt work. The STM worker wouldn’t even let him pass, he told him to wait in line and it was a good 20 people. Why does he have to wait in line for STM’s problem. He did pay for the transfer after all. But no he had to wait in line with the people want to buy tickets or whatever. Huge waste of time.

    Bottom line is that STM employees are inconsiderate.I’m not saying all STM employees are jerks but a lot are and deserve a huge slap on their faces. They think we have all the time in the world? We have things to do , be on time for work, school, meetings, you name it.

13. Ma fille a une carte Opus tarif reduit valide –>31 Octobre 2010. Je suis incapable de recharger la carte à vos points de vente et elle ne peut plus l utiliser pour aller a l ecole sauf qu elle peut payer le tarif reduit en montrant la carte defectueuse. Cela coute cher apres avoir paye pour le mois entier alors qu il y avait 3 semaines de vacances dans le mois. De plus elle ne va jamais dans le centre de Montreal et cele lui couterait beaucoup de temps et 3 ou 4 tickets pour aller dans le centre nord de Montreal – uniquement le samedi car elle travaille la semaine – tout ca pour remplacer une babiole defectueuse de qualite mediocre. Hier, la carte opus de mon epouse a marche à l aller mais pas au retour. Aujourd hui, la carte marchait – un miracle? Nous sommes esclaves d une technologie deficiente.

    Votre service d information est lamentable: essayez comme moi de trouver la carte opus sur le site http://www.stcum.qc.ca/English/a-plansi.htm sauf sur le paratransit! Vous n avez pas de search engine – nul. Non, vous devez aller sur un autre site (carteopus.info/en/main_nav/ou/garantie )
    Ce site vous explique que pour avoir un remplacement d une carte defectueuse tarif reduit, vous avez besoin de :
    if you are covered by the replacement garantee when your card is personalized with your photo!!!!!,
    bring proof of your ID and SIMPLY go to an OPUS card issuing location to have your card replaced.

    I went to SPEQ to have the card replaced. It was a total mess with different queues/information boards that did not reflect the demands of the staff (students to wait outside ??? I could not find where so waited with the elders – no instruction, then asked the staff, who told me to wait with the elders, then saw the rush of younger people by-passing the elder queue. Edifying as a business.
    Then after helping some elders through the student crowd, I got served. The only comment: SPEQ did not keep a picture of your daughter – she has to come in person.
    This is NOT stipulated on your site and why did she have to take a digital picture in October 2009 if you cannot replace the card with the same picture.
    Please get other outlets that provide card services to the people on the island of Montreal, that means within some 8 km of their home – Diversify, get a performance and no single service outlet, i.e. no concurrence.

    To culminate the day, my spouse advised me by phone – today – that her opus card was refused by the metro station. Why do we have to pay for this improper service – paying the monthly pass then paying whenever it does not work! At her next trip, it worked ! If I count Opus card failures in our family, it now totals 40% of our cards!!!!

    I totally dislike the Montreal Opus card, while appreciating other cards in Europe such as the one in the London metro system. Clean, easy to use and with no bureaucratic overlay of monster acquisition and replacement procedures – and of course many distribution sites. I even loved better the former Montreal pass system – as the service was more controlled, the bureaucracy slightly less for reduced fare and technology less costly when failing. Right now, I find the failure expensive, very time consuming and undue.

    The positive side: When I went to take the train back at Lucien Lallier going to Dorion, my pass was verified by very professional inspectors, to whom I asked to inspect the defective opus card of my daughter. The report was that she had a valid, readable STM reduced fare pass – so I bolted to the ticket counter to ask that her pass be credited for September (thinking the nightmare was over). The ticket counter told me her pass was not readable. Back to square one – with one very good point: the nice people at the ticket counter told me that if my daughter can pay for the train commute to Lucien Lallier, they would be able to take the picture and reproduce her defective opus card with minimal waiting time, and load her card with already paid service, before she goes back to work. This was the only positive input from your services and I would like to thank the AMT for it.

    Please give us back the old TRAM and STM monthly pass — Please??? The opus is costing us far more than the old system and the money goes to the transportation agency (STM?AMT?…) and sidekicks .

    Thanks
    Henry

14. I take my bicycle on the Montreal/Dorion-Rigaud train from the Vendome station out to Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue several mornings a week. Monday, Sept 14, I tried to board a (bicycle-authorized) train at 10am but was denied entry because, as the AMT employee said, “There are no bikes allowed on this train.” Of course I was angry and confused, and I had to return home to find another way to get to work in Ste-Anne. I called AMT to complain and was told (I’m paraphrasing), “Yes, you are right, you should be able to board that train with a bike, but the regular train cars that accommodate bikes are being repaired and the replacement cars have no bike racks so they are not allowing bikes on these trains.” I asked why this information was not made available to the public, and was told that from one day to the next, they don’t know which type of train car–the bike-accommodating cars or the non-bike car–would be in use. I called AMT on Tuesday, Sept 15, to ask if bikes would be allowed this day on my line, but the person didn’t know at first and had to check, after which she told me that bikes would not be allowed on this day either. I asked why the website did not post this information to which she answered that she would ask her supervisor. Obviously, the AMT management is lacking foresight or competence in putting out valuable information; and they appear not to care about what should be part of its mission–to promote public transportation, in this case, through access for bicycles on the trains as an alternative to driving a car. What is it they are advertising for Sept 22nd?: “En ville sans ma voiture!”

15. I have had a rotten day – thanks to the STM.

    I had an interview this morning in Lachine, after verifying directions – I had two possible routes I could take. One being a bus from Lionel Groulx and the other being a bus from Du College metro stations.

    I walked out of my apartment, and left to take the bus at the corner of my street. I only had a few blocks to go and noticed that the bus driver was rushing madly between stops. I rang for my next stop and of course, he missed it. I walked to the front of the bus to tell him he had missed it and I was told that I did not ring “enough in advance” – I rang as we left the last stop. He proceeded to yell at me – to which I answered that I would call the police if he didn’t stop – so he stopped the bus and let me off.

    I go to the metro and leave to go to Lionel Groulx – to take my bus – well there was something going on – people were lined up forever- and no bus! So I went back into the metro – deciding to take my second option – Metro Du College and the 202 from there. I get on the orange line and by the time I got to metro Snowdon – the metro was stopping every station for about 5 to 10 minutes with someone yelling over the intercom for the doors to be let go…I did see some kids running from train to train – but I did not see them holding doors. This went on until Du College – over 45 minutes of stop and go. I got to the 202 bus stop – only to find out I had missed my bus and waited another 20 minutes for the next one.

    So the bus finally arrives, the bus driver stops a little past the stop to let on some students (who are listening to music and get on the bus quietly). The bus driver starts yelling at them that they did not say thank you. I did see the boy nod his head in acknowledgement, but the driver kept ranting non-stop.

    Needless to say with all of this – I was over 20 minutes late for my job interview. How can you say you are never late when you are late for an interview!!??

    The ride back wasn’t better, with a bus again late (by about 10 minutes) and more grumbling from the driver.

    So much for the International Day of Peace! It doesn’t apply to Unionized STM Employees!

    Thanks for letting me rant!

16. How to stop buses driving down my residential street illegally? I’ve called complaints department numerous times. They stopped them in the past but not anymore. Fed up of calling and it sounds like a friggen freight train going by.

17. I would love to see some acountability, why are these employees not being fired and this paycheck given to people how would do the job professionally? As reasonable as my question is, this will never happen as the STM and AMT do not react to any complaint unless it makes front page. So their staff are pretty well free to act as they want.

    For what its worth remember to report the bus metro or train time and number with your complaints

18. I have been in four bus accidents since the 1980’s.

    First it was their old mirrors, then a cellphone in the middle entry on Dorval Avenue from the highway and now speed that left me with a sprained hand, bruised rib cage bone and shock and all he could say, was what the …are you doing on the ground in French.

    I had lost my balance with a lunch bag and parcel, regained my composure, almost and just in time as I grabbed wide for a pole, he slammed his brakes and guess what happened. A bus passenger helped me off the floor, Thank you to you and Thank you to the bus passenger. Do you have a rear view mirror and can you cut your speed for all your personal reasons? There are babies aboard sometimes in strollers, respect please and why can’t you leave your seat?? Too dangerous??

19. Everytime i take thepublic transit I am robbed by the computer system which counts the bud fares. Then the bus driver say nothing to me and proably ends up taking my extra money i put in the machine. If not they argue with you. On november saturday 20 /2010 at approximately 12 pm. A  female bus driver was extremely rude insulting and unprofessional with me. For the reason i did not understand what she w as saying to me. The machine must of missed counted 30 cents and she refused to explain that to me in english so she prefered to stop the bus delay the bus schedule just to prove a point that this is Quebec and she is not obligated to translate anything. Then she called her biased  STM  security. I left and went back home after she finally opened the
    i lost 2 dollars and 85 cents because i did not want to be involved in a physical contfrontation with STM corupted s ecurity force. Something needs to be done  about the neg ative attitude of the bus drivers especially the ones whom are on the 164 dudemaine route.
     Thank you!   

20. Today, I finished worked at 4 P.M. and needed to be somewhere for five. It takes me, at most, 20 minutes to get home. After I finished work, I hopped on the 24, got off at station Villa-Maria and waited for the 103. The 103 was scheduled every seven minutes and the next one was scheduled for 4:23 P.M. It was 4:18 so I decided to wait. The 4:23 never showed up, and niether did the 4:30. Finally the 4:37 came by and only brought me home at 5:00 P.M. And now, because two genius bus drivers could not tell time, I am going to be too late to go to my training program.

    I think some of these drivers need to study the book “Telling Time for Dummies” because the service would greatly improve if these drivers knew just when their bus had to arrive by.

21. Hello

    Do you believe that with a valid 8 dollars ticket bought in advance, I not only did not see the face of the 747 express bus, but also lost extra more than 60 dollars. No matter you believe or not, please read my story, I will tell you also a defect in STM system.

    The night August 13th, 2011, on expecting the 747 express bus would come on time, travellers came down from late flights and rushed to buy a bus ticket. We were waiting at the bus terminal at Doval airport, but the bus 747 neither appeared at 0:19, nor did at 0:49, it left a long line of disappointed travelers. Since nobody knew where to get information, and whether all the service was cancelled. Some of them including us had to waste the $8 ticket valid for 24 hours and went to taxi. Because of not enough cash in pocket, we let the driver go directly to home and spent more than sixty dollars. I believe that some of the travellers that night had similar unhappy experience.

    The day after, when I checked the STM online schedule for bus 747, to my surprise, I found that the online schedule was different from the printed one, only one bus service listed for each hour after 0:00 instead of two in printed copy, and the bus actually did not follow online schedule and showed up at 0:17. To verify the printed copy in my hand was up-to-date, I went to the STM service center at station Berry-UQAM, I found that the centre was distributing exactly the same copy I had, the hard copy marked starting in March 2011. Therefore, I believed that STM was running two different schedules for bus 747, but neither was followed by the driver.

    From my recent experience, I can feel that STM had difficulties to carry out weekend bus schedule especially in early morning and late at night, not only the 747 airport express line but also the in-town buses. Because On July 10th also a Saturday, bus28 did not show up at 6:40 at its south starting point and bus185 missed its schedule around 11:00 at the point of Sherbrooke / Langelier.

    I do not know whether the STM administration realized that they lost their control to buses when they were not on duty, how sever the outcome to bus 747 customers, and how bad impression to Montreal from the tourists came in front of the door of the city. Just look at the bus checkers occasionally working at the bus stops out of the metro station, I understand that STM is trying to control the poor qualified drivers. As an everyday-costumer, I would suggest STM to take more measures such as install registration machine at certain check points for bus drivers, or GPS reporters at least on the 747 buses. The tax-payers would not care to pay a little more to get more stable service.

22. Yesterday evening I was waiting in line for the 170 bus at Cote-Vertu metro station. There were a good 20 people ahead of me. When the bus arrived, everyone walked forward and got on the bus but all of a sudden the door of the bus closes in front of the lady in front of the man in front of me. The bus driver gave us no explaination and took off. So the man in front of me walked over the the window where there’s an office where I guess the supervisor works. and started yelling. Everyone in the line was complaining, so the man walked outside of the office and asked the man in line what his problem was, so he explained (with profanity). And all the supervisor could say was I’ve had enough of you, I’m going to call the police. And seriously..could you blame the man for being upset? But anyway, another woman stepped in to say what had happened and the supervisor replied saying “there’s a schedule that the driver has to keep up with, it’s a bus not a taxi or limoseine service,, and the next bus is coming in 9 mins anyways, if you all can’t understand that then I don’t know what else to say” then shrugged his shoulder and walked back to his cozy little office while we’re still in line waiting for the next bus to come, freezing. Well I’m sorry if she has a schedule to abbid by then get to your stop on time then. She was late and left early. If your not able to work for the public then don’t! And don’t you dare go on strike to get a higher pay cheque because you don’t deserve it! Also how dare you raise the fees and claim that it’s because your trying to provide better services for the public. I could care less about the metro’s and bus’s face lift. Just get to all your destinations on time and stop with your lousy attitudes.

23. so today i was waiting for the 162.After 5 minutes the bus was suppose to come but it decided not to. So i waited 30 minutes and the bus still didint come. Then i started walking and after couple minutes the bus came. I started running and waving my hand but it left. What kind of BS is this.

24. I would like to complain about the bus 123 from Montreal West to Lasalle schedule for 7:42 Monday to Friday. There is not a week that goes by that this bus is not delayed or doesn’t show up at all. I pay $151.00 a month for public transportation, I travel from St. Lazare to Lasalle. I have no complaints about the train, in fact there are more trains in the morning then city buses. I have been late on numerous occasions for work as the bus 123 at 7:42 is late or doesn’t show up at all. I cannot believe that STM is always promoting the Public Transportation yet they cannot provide reliable service. A few weeks ago in the extreme cold, we waited for the 123 Bus that didn’t come at 7:42 and then didn’t come at all. We all waited for 30 minutes in the extreme cold totally unacceptable. I would like to see something being done in making sure that buses are showing up at the scheduled times and being able to rely on the STM. The trains have no problems showing up when scheduled, no reason why the buses cannot do the same.

25. hi
    I took the bus tonight for the first time in 25 years and was looking forward to a pleasant experience, Well HELLO
    I got the rudest driver that was not helpful at all and completely ingonored my questions.
    As far as Im concerned, tis man should not be working with the public.
    On the other hand, the next bus driver was very pleasant.
    Nasty driver was 30-881 going down Park Avenue at about 7.05.pm.
    My luck, I got the same creep on the way home and he was still nasty.
    Hope you throw him under the bus lol
    roslyn

26. Systeme transport de Montreal, surtout les bus, est la merde nord améicain. Les bus (par example 90) ne viennent jamais à l’heure. Le pire, quand ces bus arrivent 5-10 avant de l’heure indiqué. Ne gaspillez pas vos argents sur STM, si vous êtes obligé d’utilser les bus. il vaut mieux d’acheter/financer la voiture. Système de bus de Montréal est comparable avec celui-ci d’afrique ou de l’inde. Par contre, les bus de la ville de Toronto est géré beaucoup plus mieux qu’ici. Peut-être, les anglos font bon “Manager” que les franco. Domage !!!

27. I was on the 128 Sunday Dec 15th. (snowstorm going on). A lady GOT on the bus and asked for directions – the driver shrugged her off – she approached him again – still no response – I offered to help her – we chatted and she told me that she was from Somalia – I then went to get off the bus – the driver told me NOT TO BLOCK HIS VIEW – I, was NOT BLOCKING HIS VIEW – I was HOLDING ON, I was BEHIND THE YELLOW LINE – WITH MY RIGHT TOE (BOOT) ON THE LINE TRYING TO KEEP MY BALANCE – I AM A SENIOR – AND I was DRAGGING A HEAVY GROCERY CART – I was HANGING ON BECAUSE THE BUS IS ABOUT TO TURN A CORNER – This bus driver continued to tell me that I was blocking his view – I was not blocking his view what so ever, and I defended myself – He then enlisted the other passengers to help him because his story had no value – it had no sense – I REMINDED HIM THAT HE SHOULD NOT INVOLVE HIS PASSENGERS. He is sitting in a warm bus, he looks well fed and hydrated, he holds all the “power” he has his t-shirt on that SUPPORTS NON VOLIENCE AND AGRESSION. He then PROCEDES TO TELL TO GET OFF FROM THE BACK DOOR. (he bus has about 12 people on it).
    I GOT OFF THE BACK DOOR BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT TO PUT THE PASSENGERS AT RISK. The bus is moving while this story is unfolding and I do not trust this bus drivers judgement. This bus driver created a problem that did not exist, because I spoke to the lady. He made a decision not to help her, and because I helped her, I was going to be punished. The lady was dressed in very elegant clothing from her country. I take busses all day long – especially 104,102,138, 103 -( and some others)- the bus drivers are great, never any problems – I think this bus driver should focus on his job and leave his personal opinions at home – When I got off the bus, I had very little room to move. I could not climb over the snow bank – and I had to wait until the bus drove away – I stood staring at the big tires hoping that they would not run over my feet. I want to repeat myself – I was not at any time blocking the bus drivers view – The driver seems to be an over-emotional sissy. If he is going to where a t-shirt that promotes a calmness in the system, then he may have “MISSED” the meeting telling him about the plan – He would want to be a part of the solution – not a part of the problem.

28. Hello,

    The bus #101 service is very low near the area of St-Patrick. It’s from 6AM to 9AM in morning after every 1/2 hrs means if we miss the bus or just 5 to 6 steps away from the stop driver refuse to open the door. since we don’t want to get late we have to walk 20 min. When they want to raise the fare they don’t think about the services they give to the public. atleast there should be a services of every 15 min if we miss one we have another. THis is a commercial area not a house area instead of 1/2 hours the bus service should be 15 min.