Montreal’s transit agency has quietly opted to reduce by nearly 25 per cent the number of articulated buses it sends out daily.
First introduced in 2008, the buses are 60 feet long, compared with the standard 40 feet. Articulated buses have two sections, held together in the middle with an accordion-style joint. They are often used on high-frequency routes, like those along Pie-IX, Henri-Bourassa and Côte-Vertu Blvds.
However, the buses are among the oldest in the fleet, and notoriously hard to maintain. Last year, they were all taken off the road when there was a problem detected in their cooling systems. Despite their issues, the STM has kept the articulated buses on the road because there appear to be few options to purchase diesel-electric hybrid versions.
In an email to The Gazette, the STM confirmed it reduced the number of articulated buses it sends out daily from 161 to 123 — a reduction of 24 per cent. The reduction happened at the same time as the STM began its new routes to serve the REM light-rail network, which went into service in the West Island on May 18.
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