The STM rolled out plans to make public transport more accessible on Tuesday but critics are pointing out that it will take up to eight years to fully implement.

Among the plan’s components is the addition of elevators in 24 additional metro stations. Of Montreal’s 68 metro stations, only 11 currently have elevator access.

The plan calls for an additional 10 elevators to be added by 2022 and 43 by 2025. The changes and upgrades will cost $213 million.

STM chairman Philippe Schnobb acknowledged that such facilities have long been overdue.

“It has to be done as fast as possible and this is what we’re doing,” he said. “It took 50 years to have elevators in 10 stations and we’re adding 24 stations in the next five years. If we’re talking about accelerating, it’s a pretty good acceleration.”

There would also be upgrades to the city’s buses, with all of the city’s buses to have ramps at the front doors by 2025, as well as better training for employees.

“When we'll be having more metro stations accessible, we'll be having more clients with disabilities in our stations. So it's important that our employees understand the needs,” said Schnobb, adding that the reason this portion of the plan would take so long is that the city’s buses are only upgraded every 16 years and by 2025 all the current buses with no ramps would be retired. 

There are also many problems with older metro trains, said Yvon Provencher of the Metropolitan Montreal Blind and Amblyopic Group.

“They're doing better, but they still have a ways to go,” he said.

The announcement system, he said, is often broken, making it hard for someone with a visual impairment know where they are.

“When the automatic announcement was integrated in the system I didn't need to worry about that. You can lose count – is this the 20th or 21st station? I didn't have to worry about it, now I have to start being really careful because I can't rely on the system,” he said.

Marie Turcotte, the STM’s adapted transit representative and a wheelchair user, said access for people with disabilities has been a longstanding issue, but that users have to understand the difficulties.

“Our needs are real and important,” she said, adding that it can take time: “It’s not always possible to move forward.”