Economy

Last Wednesday, Melina Narlis left work at 4 p.m. to go to Central Station, in downtown Montreal, to board the REM and return to her home in Saint-Hubert. But his return home was much more difficult than expected.

At the Central Station, the trains are stopped and passengers gradually invade the platform. Users are finally notified of the service stop and are invited to go to 1000, de la Gauchetière where shuttles will take them to the South Shore. “Everyone rushed at the same time, it was horror,” Ms. Narlis told Le Devoir.

The hundreds of passengers gathered at 1000, de la Gauchetière are not at the end of their troubles. After regarding forty minutes of waiting in confusion, they were informed by a security agent that no bus was coming and that they would have to make their own way to Longueuil station, where shuttles would take them to their destination. . “It was total chaos. There were people who shouted and left angry,” says Melina Narlis. “I was disgusted, so I decided to take a taxi. My children had been home alone since 4 p.m. […] I arrived home at 6:52 p.m. I was disgusted. »

Melina Narlis is all the more frustrated because before the arrival of the REM, her bus trip was much faster and less expensive. And she wasn’t late for work every week, like she is now. “I’m starting to reconsider my mode of transportation to work, for financial reasons, but also for the time it takes me to get to work and the anxiety it causes me. You never know when it won’t work,” explains this mother of three. “I did my calculations and it would cost me $110 less per month to use my car. »

Users taken hostage

Fanny Ryner describes the same “total chaos” that the hundreds of users experienced on Wednesday during the extended service stop, while they waited at 1000 de la Gauchetière for shuttles that never came. “There was no communications service. Everyone was panicking. Everyone was screaming,” she said.

When an employee recommended that users go to the Longueuil metro station, Fanny Ryner had to resign herself to using Uber, a trip that cost her $55. ” I had no choice. I had to pick up my son from daycare before 6 p.m. »

But it is above all the feeling of being taken hostage by the REM which exasperates her. Remember that since the REM came into service, Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) buses can no longer use the Samuel-De Champlain bridge. “To feel ‘stuck’ in the city center with no way to get back home, it’s like they have control over your life. And there’s no one to help you. It’s a bit traumatic. »

Isabelle Lussier has lost her patience. Last week she bought a car.

She had chosen to live in Brossard to be close to the Du Quartier REM station so that she might easily get to her work in Verdun. But reality caught up with her. As she has to go to work with her two-year-old child, her travel has proven to be complicated, as the REM-bus solution is not adapted to her situation.

“I’m disappointed, because in the neighborhood where I live, it’s extremely expensive because, precisely, it’s next to a REM station and I didn’t have a car to pay for. But I had no choice,” she explains. Isabelle Lussier still planned to use the REM for certain trips to Montreal. This is actually what she did last Wednesday; but wasted effort, since the network was paralyzed and she had to turn back to take her car.

Promised improvements

CDPQ Infra recognizes that improvements will be necessary. The service outages in recent days are attributable to power supply and computer system failures as well as equipment breakdowns, indicated Michelle Lamarche, director of media and digital content at CDPQ Infra, in an email Friday. “We absolutely want clearer and more precise information to be delivered to users. This is what we expect from our operators. Users must have reliable, timely information on trains, in stations and on platforms,” she argued.

Ms. Lamarche adds that the bus shuttle service is subject to “continuous review” with other transport networks and the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) which coordinates it. “The information for users regarding the shuttle services that are available on our website will be improved in the coming days to facilitate consultation and understanding. »

If there were no shuttles at 1000, de la Gauchetière last Wednesday, it was because “the REM traffic during rush hour is too high to accommodate the necessary shuttles at the Central Station”, she maintains.

Any recourse?

Fanny Ryner does not intend to stop there. After asking CDPQ Infra in vain for reimbursement for Uber costs and the transport ticket she lost, she is considering filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection Office and the ARTM. “I have a good job. The $55 isn’t going to put me in the hole, but I think of other women who already have trouble putting bread on the table, how do they do it? »

On Facebook, where they vent their frustration, REM users have raised the idea of ​​filing a class action. Already, several petitions are circulating calling for the return of buses to the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge.

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