The Union claimed that the reduction in services in RTC was due to the shortage of vehicles and not drivers

The reduction in service announced for this winter on the Capital Transport Network (RTC) is the result of a shortage of vehicles, not drivers, according to the union, which is not angry and has blamed leaders for poor management of the available buses.

• Also Read: Service for RTC buses has been reduced this winter: more than 360 departures per week have been cancelled

Lacking spare parts for repairs and “flawed” fleet planning, the Public Transport Employees Union of Metropolitan Quebec (SETPQM) will not adhere to the RTC’s theory that a shortage of drivers justifies the withdrawal of 360 departures per week on his network.

“That doesn’t make sense! To say we are angry would be an understatement,” began an interview with then SETPQM President Helen Fortin. News magazine. “The main reason is the lack of vehicles and the owner should address this and feel that they have not managed and planned properly. [des autobus].”

M^me Fortin argues that these management issues lead to drivers twiddling their thumbs rather than offering bus trips.

“We often find 25 or 30 drivers a day who don’t go out to stop their work because they don’t have a vehicle. So they are customers who have canceled their trips,” she explains.

For its part, the RTC assures that the drivers’ union is “in the know”. [ses] Labor issues.” “[Ils] It was widely discussed during the recent discussions [d’une convention collective]», said Raphaëlle Savard, RTC.

“RTC does not question the work and mobilization of its drivers in any way,” adds the spokesperson, assuring that the organization is “proactively moving” to hire new drivers.

Work overload

The Union also denied the lack of communication since it was learned in the pages of the RTC Quebec Journal Reduced service for winter.

SETPQM also fears that this reduction in service will increase the workload of already “overloaded” drivers.

While many public transport networks are showing significant deficits due to the drop in ridership from the Covid-19 pandemic, the RTC remains as popular as ever, according to the union.

“During the negotiations [de la nouvelle convention collective] “The owner told us that they took back about 90% of their pre-pandemic clientele,” says Helen Fortin.

The RTC approved a new collective agreement for bus drivers on July 5 after the SETPQM led a five-day strike.