2023-11-25 05:00:00
The shortage of bus drivers is forcing the Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) to reduce its services for the winter period: more than 360 departures will be canceled each week this winter.
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“We have adjusted services mainly on weekends due to the labor shortage, which particularly affects drivers,” explained RTC spokesperson Raphaëlle Savard.
In total, on a weekly basis, 181 departures are canceled on Saturdays, and 181 are canceled on Sundays, across the entire network, it was specified.
The newspaper questioned the RTC regarding a press release which announced a “change of pace” for the winter season, starting on Saturday. The document directs the reader to the RTC website, where we see that around a hundred routes are affected, including the popular Métrobus.
Other adjustments
If departure cancellations are concentrated on weekends, eXpress routes, which operate only during the week, are also affected by “minor schedule updates”.
Service adjustments represent 1% of weekly departures. “We had to adjust the service due to our difficulty in filling shifts on weekends. We favored routes that offered an alternative, and adjusted schedules according to less busy times to minimize the impact on customers,” noted Ms. Savard. “Also, we have adjusted the service equally across the entire territory so as not to impact the same customers.”
To find out what changes have been made, you must consult the RTC website and click on each route, which only presents the new timetable, without comparison with the old one, agrees the RTC. Users must therefore obtain information individually.
Recruitment campaign
The RTC assures that it is working to resolve the labor shortage problem. “However, we are taking action to minimize the impacts on customers in the long term, particularly with the driver recruitment campaign which has been deployed in recent weeks. We received more than double the number of applications than during the same period last year, which proves that the objectives were largely achieved,” says Ms. Savard.
The drivers obtained a new collective agreement last July, following five days of strike. It provides for adjustments and salary increases totaling 18% over 5 years, which aims in particular to facilitate the attraction and retention of the workforce.
Around a hundred modified routes
6 Metrobus routes
60 eXpress courses
33 leBus routes
181 departures canceled on Saturdays
181 departures canceled on Sundays
Adjustments represent 1% of weekly departures.
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