Laval’s transit agency, the Société de transport de Laval (STL), began cancelling daily bus trips on Tuesday due to unusual difficulties with its internal parts supply chain and fleet management, saying it currently does not have enough vehicles to operate its full service.
The STL operates roughly 2,500 bus trips each day, carrying about 68,000 passengers. Initially, the agency cancelled 60 trips daily, including 39 during the morning peak and 23 in the afternoon. The reduction represents about 2.6 per cent of total service and could affect around 1,980 riders each day.
Starting Monday, March 16, STL will restore approximately 30 previously cancelled trips, bringing the number of daily cancellations down to 31 — including 22 during the morning peak and nine in the afternoon.
STL says the disruptions are expected to last four to eight weeks. Weekend service is not affected, but the agency cannot guarantee accessible vehicles on accessible routes.
In a statement to CityNews, the transit authority said it is working to support passengers during the disruption. “The STL strives to support its customers as much as possible during service disruptions. All relevant information is available on our website, and we make every effort to keep customers informed through our various communication channels. In addition, the agents of our Customer Contact Centre remain available to answer questions and help customers explore possible alternatives for their trips.”
“The STL is doing everything in its power to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”
Customers are encouraged to check service alerts, use trip-planning tools, or call the Customer Contact Centre at 450-688-6520 to verify whether a bus serving a planned trip is equipped with a ramp.
Residents say the STL service disruptions could make daily life much harder for people who rely on public transit. Many noted that reduced bus trips would particularly affect older residents and those without cars.
“I don’t use the bus often, have my car, but from I was living here in Saint-François-Est and I think it’s going to be very hard for people to manage to go to work or school without those transport, and already it’s kind of a there is few buses now, so it’s hard to to get around if they remove them,” said one woman.
Another commuter emphasized the challenges for families and older adults. “I feel it’s going to affect a lot of people, matter of fact for older people, especially for my mother,” he said.
Others highlighted the broader impact on the community. “People won’t be able to go to their jobs, school, and I guess it’s going to affect a lot of their lives. People really can’t afford like cars right now, so it’s really hard to this economy, and we need the transportation and to get to our works and get to our schools, so yeah, I think it does affect a lot,” said another woman.
Some commuters also recognized the need for maintenance but stressed that solutions must protect reliability. “I feel like that’s valid because if they have to check stuff and make sure that it works well so that we don’t get issues while we’re on the bus or whatever, I feel like that’s okay. But the same time, they should find a better solution for us to get to work because I don’t want to be stuck in a line for like two hours when I’m trying to get to school and then be late for school,” one woman said.
The STL also told CityNews it has implemented several measures to accelerate repairs and restore service.
The transit authority says it has hired staff from an external agency to help address absences in its stockroom and support its teams. It has also reached out to other public transit agencies to obtain certain missing parts more quickly.
Efforts have also been made to adjust employees’ work shifts in order to optimize working time.
“These actions are aimed at returning as many vehicles as possible to service as quickly as possible,” the STL said.
According to the transit authority, several factors contributed to the current situation.
“Changes to the IT infrastructure, combined with the absence of key resources and challenges in the supply chain, have resulted in a shortage of parts,” the STL said.
The agency also noted that the particularly harsh winter placed additional pressure on its vehicle fleet.
It said the difficult winter conditions led to more breakdowns and mechanical issues, increasing the demand on its parts inventory and requiring additional purchases within tighter timelines. This situation has resulted in longer maintenance times for vehicles.
The STL says the full list of cancelled trips is available on its website in the Customer Advisories section and will be updated as the situation evolves.
The transit authority reiterated that its teams are working diligently to restore the situation as quickly as possible and expects disruptions to continue for the next four to eight weeks.
“Our priority is to limit the impacts on our customers,” the STL said.
In a statement to CityNews, Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer said the city is actively monitoring the STL service disruptions and coordinating with the transit agency to minimize impacts on riders.
“Any cancelled trips are a setback for public transit users. We are monitoring the situation closely and remain in contact with the STL. I am confident the STL teams will mobilize to restore service as quickly as possible and ensure Laval residents receive the level of service they deserve.”
Action Laval is raising alarms over the STL’s service disruptions, calling the cancellations of 60 daily bus trips “unacceptable” for Laval residents who rely on public transit.
“Laval residents who use public transit expect reliable service. The cancellation of dozens of trips every day for several weeks raises serious questions about the planning and management of operations at the STL,” said David De Cotis, city councillor for Saint-Bruno.
De Cotis said the cuts affect 2,000 users during the busiest times of day, the morning and afternoon rush periods. “For Action Laval and myself, it is really not acceptable that something like this can happen to the city of Laval,” he said.
He explained that he and the opposition submitted a proposal asking the mayor and the five STL board councillors to conduct an internal investigation and present a recovery plan, but the request was refused. “Many questions. No answers. It’s like they’re hiding something,” De Cotis said.
“We did some investigation with the other transit agencies—for example, the STM in Montreal, the South Shore, Trois-Rivières, Quebec City. All those transit agencies, they have the same buses, the have the same parts to maintain those buses, and none of those transit agencies have any issues with the buses or witj the services. But in Laval, we have a huge issue with that.”
Action Laval leader Achille Cifelli warned that residents must be able to rely on public transportation.
“When nearly 2,000 riders a day are at risk of being affected, this is not a simple service adjustment, but rather a symptom of poor management. The people of Laval must be able to count on reliable public transit. We will ensure that the STL implements the necessary measures to prevent such disruptions from occurring again.”
De Cotis also reflected on his prior experience as STL board chair. “When I was leading the STL chairman of the board, this would never happen because we had status reports every month to make sure that the parts were well delivered and the inventory was well stocked. The fact that they just received this news, there is some sort of mismanagement somewhere.”
As the city waits for solutions, commuters can only hope the STL service gets back on track.
