The delicate equilibrium of Laval's public transportation system
Hopping Aboard the STL Amidst Pandemic Challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic has left no stone unturned, and public transit is no exception, not even in the suburbs of Montreal, Laval. Once on an upward trajectory, the Société de transport de Laval (STL) has faced an uncertain future since 2020.
Early morning, at a serene stop on the STL network's Boulevard Lévesque Est, Aurore, a student at Collège Montmorency, waits for her usual line 42 bus. "Before, we had the 942, an express line," she laments. Scrapped last fall, this line had previously served Saint-François before swiftly bypassing Highway 440 to reach the Montmorency station directly—about 15 kilometers away.
"Since the 942 vanished, the 42 is overflowing," Aurore explains with frustration. Now a daily commuter, she notes that the bus capcity is often exceeded at this end of the line.
Other than the 942, lines 360 and 41 have also vanished. Moreover, the frequency of trips has been slashed on a considerable portion of STL lines, as found by Le Devoir's examination of schedules.
A closer look reveals that nearly a fifth (19%) of the lines in the Laval network have experienced a drop of more than 10% in their daily trips between 2019 and 2024. At peak morning hours, this figure balloons to 32%. Even the most popular lines in the STL network have seen a service decrease, although not always surpassing 10%.
Balancing Between Service and Demand
"These numbers need to be scrutinized," clarifies Christine Gauvreau, STL's executive director of client experience. True, the service offer has shrunk, but ridership has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. With fewer buses on the roads, there are fewer passengers, she explains.
The overcrowded perception holds merit. Ridership on the STL network hovers at roughly 93% of its pre-COVID-19 levels, Gauvreau adds. The uncertainty lingers within the network. "Our services are still based on our client behavior, something we mastered well before the pandemic. However, the pandemic completely disrupted our understanding," Gauvreau remarks.
The adaptation period lasted a few years. Initially, increases were made on certain routes to prepare for the resumption in 2021 that, unfortunately, did not materialize. Passenger traffic was far from what was anticipated, and some buses sailed empty, according to the director.
Since then, the number of trips has decreased on most lines, sometimes dipping below pre-pandemic levels. "We resorted to the practice of 'smoothing,'" Gauvreau explains. The practice involves removing trips during peak hours, with consideration of crowding to avoid exceeding a predetermined comfort threshold.
Aiming for a "More Direct" Service
Funding crunch is one of the main hurdles in reviving the service since the pandemic. STL doesn't seem to have the means to enhance its offer in the coming years; instead, it plans to "optimize" it to reduce costs while preserving an acceptable level of service.
Gauvreau admits that these measures are struggling to make public transport more appealing. "We're not helping our future. We're frustrating our passengers, who have the means to travel by car and then tell us: 'Well, this doesn't work anymore, so I'm going to use my car.' That's not desirable."
however, Marc-Antoine Gauthier, president of the Association for Public Transport in Laval, highlights the essence of a transport network's priorities: frequency, proximity, and time. Express lines like the 942 cater to these priorities as they save users time, Gauthier believes.
He also advocates for a "more direct" service model, inspired by Greater Montreal's practices. "Laval offers potential for on-demand transport," Gauthier suggests, citing the collective taxi service of Exo as an instance. Such a service enables the offer to cater to user demand, eliminating empty buses while ensuring a certain predictability for users and the network. "On-demand transport could be an intriguing service to explore, particularly for more remote neighborhoods."
In summary, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected public transit in Laval, as it has globally. Ongoing efforts to reinstate and improve transit services underscore a broader aim to amplify mobility in the region.
The executive director of client experience at STL, Christine Gauvreau, mentions that the decreased bus services are a response to lower ridership during the pandemic. She explains, "With fewer buses on the roads, there are fewer passengers."
In the quest to enhance mobility in Laval, Marc-Antoine Gauthier, president of the Association for Public Transport in Laval, advocates for a "more direct" service model, such as on-demand transport. He believes that this approach could cater to user demand, eliminate empty buses, and provide predictability for users and the network.
