These are the STM's 9 most common complaints of the past year

Raise your hand (or OPUS card) in the air if you've ever been annoyed or angry with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) because of something related to the bus or metro? In 2023, that would equate to around 37,943 of you — at least, that's the number of complaints that were actually filed, according to a new report.

And an STM spokesperson has shared the main reasons for those complaints with MTL Blog.

In the STM's 2023 annual report, released last week, the transportation agency says it saw a 10% increase in complaints and comments last year compared to the previous year. However, there was also a 21% increase in ridership compared to 2022, for a total of 288 million trips.

With more people come more comments and complaints. So, in its report, the STM explains that there was actually an 8% decrease in the number of complaints per million bus trips and an 11% decrease per million metro trips.

Still, the STM managed to rack up tens of thousands of complaints.

"The increasingly complex social landscape has had an impact on customers' sense of safety, particularly in the metro, and consequently on the number of complaints. That's why the STM's strategy for 2023 was to increase the visibility of staff and strengthen the organization's ability to intervene by adding 20 new special constables to the network and creating the role of safety ambassador to support customers," the report reads.

Yet the report comes on the heels of at least 12 high-profile criminal attacks occurring across the Montreal metro network since the start of 2024. The Annual Management Plans for Public Infrastructure Investments (PAGI) of the Government of Quebec, brought to public attention at the National Assembly last month, also gave 9% of Montreal metro stations a D rating due to "poor conditions."

Here are the main categories the 2023 complaints fell under, according to the STM's director of public affairs, partner relations and communications Amélie Régis.

Complaint categories

Note that the number in brackets represents the number of complaints.

Bus

1. Schedules (8,509)
2. Employee behaviour (5,616)
3. Route (1,138)
4. Driving of the vehicle (1,102)

Metro

1. Customer safety / attitude (1,833)
2. Cleanliness (682)
3. Fare collections / purchasing (667)
4. Employee behaviour (606)
5. Absence or interruption of service (458)

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.