Bus drivers exceed the speed limit

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Zechariah Goudreault

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 00:10

UPDATE
Wednesday, December 13, 2017 00:10

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Bus drivers complain that they sometimes exceed the speed limits in the middle of a storm of snow to not accumulate delays because the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) denies, according to them, adjust schedules according to the weather.

Several drivers, who have preferred to silence their name to maintain their anonymity, have complained of have a schedule of trips are similar in summer and winter, a situation which does not take account of the reality on the ground.

“Time and again, this is not obvious because the schedules are tight. There are delays that accumulate,” said Martin.

Some drivers violate the same security Code to adhere to their schedule and avoid being the target of unhappy customers. “Bus drivers who drive faster than the speed limit to catch up, we see it often,” he added.

Schedules “unrealistic”

The situation is however quite different on the ground, supports the president of the syndicate of bus drivers of the STM, Renato Carlone.

“The STM do we not listen to them. That they stop saying that they are reviewing the lines, they do nothing […] If I have 30 minutes to make a trip in September, I have 30 minutes to do it in January,” he said.

The slippery roads and snow banks in the vicinity of the stops are all factors that slow down the bus for the winter and thus make the hours of the drivers as “unrealistic”, according to Mr. Carlone, who said that he had already drove faster than the permissible limit to avoid being “attacked” verbally by users dissatisfied with the delay.

“If you do not drive faster than the speed limit on a dry road in the summer, it is late, so imagine the winter […] It has become a daily routine for drivers to accumulate 10 to 15 minutes late. The customers have reason to be frustrated”, he launched.

The public affairs advisor to the STM, Philippe Déry, however, has indicated by email that the schedule of the bus routes are adjusted four times a year, and that the service is improved on the majority of lines in the winter. He adds that drivers are subject to internal penalties in case of non-compliance with the Code of road safety, in addition to being responsible for their contravention.