Ups and downs of the STM

Claude Trudel, STM president and also Verdun Borough Mayor is very much at the wheel and is not loosening his grip in spite of the gray clouds hovering over the horizon - problems like an impending drivers’ strike, the selection of a supplier which was contested in court, and the chronic lack of company financing. Interviewed at Verdun City Hall, the STM president reminded everyone, by means of an introduction, that the quality of services in the metro has increased in terms of frequency, representing an improvement of 17% which required a $20 million investment. Claude Trudel said he is proud of the fact that his bus fleet is running with bio-diesel, but at the same time estimates that a 16% improvement in land transportation will require the addition of 212 busses that Nova Bus should be able to assemble in the next few years. With respect to the STM drivers’ strike, the STM president said he was confident that an agreement will be reached, confirming that only a few issues need to be settled between the parties. Moreover, he said that negotiations will resume in the spirit of a possible reconciliation, saying that it looks promising. Claude Trudel however denied the statement by the president of the union, Claude Benoit, that there was an agreement last December, but that the proposal was referred to Mayor Tremblay who had asked “that the issue undergo another review.”

Claude Trudel admitted with no hesitation that last week’s judgment on the granting of a contract to Bombardier without doing a call for tenders for the construction of metro trains surprised STM management. He believed that the judgment will entail a one-year delay for the project. Those responsible for the project have three options: to appeal the judgment, prepare a call for tenders with the necessary delays, or try to find a common ground for agreement between Bombardier and its competitor Alstom. Claude Trudel appears to favour a sharing agreement between the two great builders. It is therefore up to the Quebec government now to decide the matter since it will finance 75% of the costs.