Some riders upset at new Montreal bus routes eliminating popular lines

Bus routes in several boroughs in Montreal have been revamped, meaning there are new and cancelled routes and some Montrealers are unsure that the changes improve things.

For example, many in the Verdun neighbourhood took line 58 along Wellington Street regularly.

"That line was quite convenient for the people who live here for many years," said Bobby Ansari, who relies on public transit every day, "to get to work, to other parts further on Wellington, to go into LaSalle. I have a parent who is in a nursing home in LaSalle."

Starting Monday, Ansari's commute is going to be more complicated and longer.

Line 58 was one of those eliminated.

"What was really great about the 58 was it's reliability and the fact that it was within walking distance, not only of my home but of everything else that I needed," said Ansari. "Now, it complicates things for absolutely nothing."

She's not the only one frustrated to be losing the 58. Lilly Lacoursiere-Gignac lives in LaSalle and also rode the line.

"It's a bus that's full all the time, and I just couldn't figure out why they would be removing it," she said.

While Montreal's public transit body (STM) said the reconfiguration and merger of some 30 lines will allow for higher efficiency, Lacoursiere-Gignac said there are gaps.

"There wasn't really any bus that was recuperating that lost portion of the circuit between Crawford Park and the end of the circuit which is in my area in the Village-des-Rapides," said Lacoursiere-Gignac.

She launched a petition to denounce the removal of line 58, which has garnered over 2,400 signatures.

She is meeting with STM representatives this week to present the petition and talk about what can be done.

The STM said the work to redesign its network in Verdun started four years ago with public consultations.

"It was asked to enhance the service -- a more frequent service as well as more direct line," said STM spokesperson Isabelle Tremblay. 

Tremblay says it was important for the STM to make these changes at zero cost.

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"We have financial difficulties, as you know, in public transportation, and therefore, we actually merged more than abolished," she said.

Tremblay added that commuters will have to adjust and that they won't have to walk more than 500 metres to get to a bus stop.

Some commuters do not appreciate their stops moving.

"Once it starts to get colder and winter falls, it's going to get much more hard to navigate, not just for the students but for the seniors back here and that's going to become a nightmare," said LaSalle resident Debbie Dennis.

Even though most users understand the financial realities in public transportation, they're upset that it's the users who are paying the price.