Longueuil's transport network: drivers at the end of their rope

Tired of the consequences of service cuts and customer dissatisfaction, a Longueuil bus driver decided to question his management about the reality he and his colleagues were facing.

So he decided to make his voice heard and has been circulating a letter in recent days that he has the signatures of other drivers before handing it to Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) general director Alain Dufort.

“Customers are dissatisfied with the service and they express it to us more often and in a less and less respectful way,” the driver with more than twenty years of experience said in his letter.

It discusses two main effects in particular, namely the optimization of resources during the pandemic and the arrival of the Reso Express Metropolitan (REM) which created a major overhaul on the south coast.

“Being on the first line, being in direct contact with customers, receiving many expressions of dissatisfaction throughout our working day, it greatly affects our morale,” underlined the driver.

“Those responsible for RTL must take a real understanding of the harmful consequences of the latest optimizations,” he noted.

This outrage was also confirmed by the RTL Bus Drivers Union (CUPE 3333).

“If we continue to run like this, we're going to hit the wall,” said its president, Mark Gingras.

“What's going to happen is people will see the holes and say, 'Well, what can we do to make it attractive?' As long as they maintain it, optimizations and cuts, it will not go anywhere,” he added.

Routes with increased traffic don't necessarily register an increase in service, Mr. Gingras worries, but most drivers don't have much time to rest before embarking on a new trip.

“It is unfortunate to say that in 2024, there are people who are almost afraid to go to the toilet because they are already late for their next trip,” he said.

The Longueuil Transportation Network, for its part, talks about the recovery of road traffic and the work on the roads that has an impact on punctuality. “We are monitoring the situation closely,” he said.