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Berlioz Street:commuters will have to wait… or walk

par Pierre Vigneault
Voir tous les articles de Pierre Vigneault
Article mis en ligne le 20 septembre 2007 à 23:00
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Modified bus schedule

Bus #168, during morning rush hour, on Berlioz Street, has not been as frequent as it used to be a few months ago. Commuters have to sometimes wait up to 29 minutes for the bus, while the time between buses was only six minutes this past June. For those affected, this is certainly not "improved" service.

When one compares the bus schedule for this past spring with the one for this fall, it's clear that passengers have a good reason to be complaining. At stop #56666, passengers can take the bus at 7:21 a.m., but if they miss it, they have to wait until 7:50 a.m. for the next one (barring a delay). A few months ago, the bus would have passed at 7:19 a.m., followed by more buses at 7:25 a.m., at 7:33 a.m., 7:40 a.m. and 7:47 a.m. With "improved" service, this frequency no longer exists. The bus passes, on average, every 10-11 minutes and increased service only commences at 8:03 a.m., while this past June, it began at 6:49 a.m.

Explanations

When contacted, Louise Labrie, a spokesperson for the STM, admitted that the frequency of bus # 168 has indeed been reduced since August 27.

Before, additional buses during rush hour would depart from Place du Commerce. Drivers would wait until the fixed hour and travel until the rue de Gaspé terminal, via Berlioz Street, before coming back via L'Ile-des-Soeurs boulevard, downtown-bound. As a result, a dozen additional buses would be travelling on Berlioz, between 6:49 a.m. and 9:16 a.m. Since the new schedule has been in effect, the bus travels directly to the new terminal on the Island's southern sector, via L'Ile-des-Seours. From there, they depart for downtown Montreal, without passing through Berlioz Street, and residents of this sector no longer have direct access to the bus.

Mrs. Labrie explained that these changes were implemented in order to reduce traffic at Place du Commerce. Drivers now wait at the southern sector terminal for their time to depart.

The 500-metre mark

Mrs. Labrie informed us that all passengers have to do is walk to L'Ile-des-Soeurs boulevard or make their way to the corner of Berlioz/René-Levesque to take the bus. When we reminded her that this makes for a distance of approximately 500 metres between Berlioz and the two extremities, she responded that this distance falls within acceptable STM norms. According to her, the STM has the latitude to exceed this distance by a few metres, when circumstances require it.

Island commuters wanting to get downtown during morning rush hour as soon as possible, don't really have a choice. If they wait for the next bus, they may have to wait between 8 and 30 minutes (depending on the time). If they decide to walk, that will also take a while.

Mrs. Labrie noted that the problem will be taken into consideration, when new bus service is implemented at the Island's northern sector in the fall of 2008.

The Magazine is hoping to hear from mayor Trudel (who is also STM president) before we go to print.

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