Hard hit by the rise in the price of gas and the purchase price of their vehicle, taxi drivers offering paratransit began a four-day strike on Friday that risks affecting “thousands” of users of the Montreal Transport Company (STM).
Due to a strike that began on Friday and will continue until Monday, the STM is refusing all new requests for trips by paratransit during this period, with the exception of those related to “medical consultations”. Significant delays are also to be expected for trips already reserved, which are however maintained.
According to Serge Poulin, executive director of the Regrouping of users of adapted and accessible transport on the island of Montreal, this strike is taking “hostage” “thousands” of users of the STM’s adapted transport. According to the transport company’s latest annual report, it had 28,250 active paratransit users last year. “For us, this is unacceptable. »
“It has devastating effects,” continues Mr. Poulin, who points out that the social activities, even the work trips of many paratransit users will be compromised by this situation.
The president of the Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec, Linda Gauthier, will be personally affected by this strike. The lady, who travels in a wheelchair, must go tomorrow evening to LaSalle from the Plateau-Mont-Royal for a dinner organized by her relatives for her birthday, but the delays expected for her scheduled trip by paratransit force her to review their plans. She now plans to take three different bus lines to get to her destination.
“We are pretty much left to ourselves,” laments Ms. Gauthier.
” At the crossroads “
This means of pressure, piloted by a group of taxi drivers offering paratransit, occurs in a context where the cost of large-format vehicles has exploded in recent months, as has the price of gas. The drivers are therefore asking that the hourly rates offered to them for the routes carried out be increased accordingly.
“I’ve been in this industry for 29 years and I’ve never seen this,” notes the To have to the president of Taxi Para-Adapté, Yung Cuong, who has seen several of his drivers offering para-transit leave the ship in the last few months. “We lost 30 to 40% of the workforce. »
“The paratransit industry is at a crossroads,” warns Mr. Cuong, who hopes that the STM and the Ministère des Transports du Québec will listen to the demands of drivers to remedy this situation.
At the STM, we ensure To have to that discussions are underway with suppliers to the taxi industry “to resolve these disputes”.
“Historically, the STM’s paratransit service has always had harmonious relations with the taxi industry. This relationship is based in particular on sharing a common awareness of the importance of maintaining the trips of paratransit customers,” adds the STM, which encourages “customers who can and who wish to use the network regular” of the transport company during this strike.
However, only 19 of the STM’s 68 métro stations are equipped with elevators and therefore universally accessible.