Public transit authority admits mistake by cutting early morning bus route in overhaul

A Pointe-Claire woman says she’s lost the early-morning West Island bus she relied on for years after the Montreal public transit authority updated its routes.

A Pointe-Claire woman says she’s lost the early-morning West Island bus she relied on for years.

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) admits it made a mistake, but says a fix won’t come anytime soon.

Jaine Orr has had the same morning routine for more than 25 years. The daycare educator walks 60 metres from her home to the 211 bus heading east so she can arrive at her job downtown for 7 a.m.

That was until May 18.

“Now, with the REM changes, they took away the 5:40 bus,” Orr explained.

Nearly 80 routes were modified when the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) launched its new light-rail line to the West Island in May. The 5:40 a.m. bus she relied on disappeared.

The earliest bus is now almost an hour later.

Now, Orr’s husband drives her each morning to a different bus stop about a kilometre-and-a-half away so she can catch the 411 express.

For Orr, the service no longer matches the price of a monthly transit pass.

“It’s going up to $110 now starting July. The whole point of having a bus pass is to be able to access public transportation,” the Pointe-Claire resident said.

Orr brought her concerns to the transit agency.

In its response to her, the STM acknowledged a problem. It wrote that “insufficient attention was given to maintaining the service span of the current line 211. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by this reduced schedule.”

“We are currently reviewing the short-, medium-, and long-term adjustments required following the recent bus network changes. As part of this process, a mid-term solution is being considered to reallocate resources in order to restore the morning service span for line 211.”

“Basically, they admit that they messed up, but that nothing’s going to be done before January,” Orr said.

In a statement to CTV News, an STM spokesperson says the changes were made based on “the needs of residents ... within the agency’s financial capacity,” adding the line could be adjusted as it continues to assess the network changes.

For Orr, that offers little comfort. She says what used to be a short walk to the bus stop has become a daily headache.