Senior bus service to be re-evaluated

BY DANIEL BARTLETT

The shuttle service pilot project for senior citizens may not be renewed at the end of the month after Borough Mayor Michael Applebaum noted that its average ridership is well below what was initially expected.

Last June, the CDN/NDG Borough and the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) teamed up to offer a shuttle bus route for seniors. The pilot project has since run every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with two busses, numbers 21 and 23 in CDN and NDG respectively, dropping off and picking up users at grocery stores, banks and other places of interest.

Now, Applebaum said the service may not continue after its inception year because of low ridership figures. The project’s contract ends May 28. “I cannot justify using taxpayers’ money for a service that’s not being used,” he said. “My objective here is to keep the project going if it’s feasible.”

Initial surveys that were carried out at seniors’ centres showed a high number of people interested in the pilot project. This idea was reinforced when a large amount of seniors attended an occasion to celebrate its inauguration.

But Applebaum now sees that this level of participation was misleading. “The people came because I invited them, it was an event,” he said.

On April 28, Applebaum met with Marvin Rotrand, city councillor for the Snowdon district and vice-chair of the STM, to discuss whether the service could be maintained. According to Applebaum, Rotrand said the STM is looking at the possibility of modifying the routes and asked that the shuttle service be extended a month longer.

However, Applebaum said that when he discussed the project with the people in charge of the service, they weren’t aware of any plans to reroute the buses. “They are still under the same opinion that we should stop the service,” he said. “I’ve written now to the head of the STM to ask him has he had these discussions with Marvin Rotrand because I’m not aware of anything else and neither are the people from the STM.”

Rotrand wasn’t available for comment but STM spokesperson Isabelle Tremblay said it is too early to tell whether the service would be renewed for a year or a month. “When we announced the project last June, we said it would run for a year and then we would see,” she said. “The year has not ended so we won’t be giving any comments.”

As for the unconfirmed meeting between Rotrand and STM Director General Yves Devin, Tremblay said she could not give any information on internal affairs. Meanwhile, Applebaum is still awaiting a response from Devin. “I cannot use borough funds for a service that isn’t being used by many people,” he said.