STM chair Philippe Schnobb answers your questions about iBUS, AZUR and reckless bus drivers

The chair of Montreal's public transit agency, the STM, dropped by CBC's Radio Noon Thursday to answer your questions about the city's bus and Metro service.

Head of Montreal's transit agency dropped by CBC's Radio Noon to check in with listeners, Facebook viewers

CBC News Posted: May 17, 2018 3:57 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 17, 2018

STM president Philippe Schnobb joined our Radio Noon call-in show to answer your questions about the transit agency. (Radio-Canada)

The chair of Montreal's public transit agency, the STM, dropped by CBC's Radio Noon Thursday to answer your questions about the city's bus and Metro service.

Here are his answers to some of your questions.

Why is the posted schedule always wrong?

"We have a lot of roadwork. Sometimes we have snowstorms,"Schnobbexplained.

He said that real-time information is available through the STM'slatest app, iBUS,which was launched last December.

In Montreal, you can finally track the bus in real time

Schnobb doesn't look at the posted schedule anymore and relies on the app, he says.

"When we say the bus is coming in five minutes, it's a real five minutes," he said of the app.

What happens if my bus driver is reckless?

If a driver is speedingor otherwise driving dangerously, Schnobbrecommends writing down the bus number and alerting the STM.

"You have numbers like 37/304:it's the number of the bus, so if you have complaints, you can call or email customer service," he said.

Why doesn't our Metro run 24 hours a day?

Schnobbsaid maintenance work needsto be done at night, and the four or five hours maintenance workers have while the Metro is closed isalready hard to manage.

Some cities have embraced a 24-hour subway system, but Schnobbexplained that's only possible in cities with parallel subway lines.

Are we getting more AZUR trains?

The STMcurrently has 41 AZUR trains and expects to have 52 by the end of the year.

STM Chair Philippe Schnobb said 90 per cent of the trains on the Orange Metro line are new AZUR trains. (STM)

"I think 90 per cent of trains on the Orange line are AZUR. Before the end of the summer, 100 per cent of trains on the Orange line will be AZUR,"Schnobbsaid.