The special constables of the STM give half as many fines as before the pandemic since they have “almost no more time” to control users.
“We are running out of time to do title checks,” explains Kevin Grenier, president of the STM-CSN Constables and Peace Officers Fraternity. We do a little, but a lot less.”
In the four years preceding the pandemic, the STM distributed between 13,000 and 14,000 statements of offense annually, of which approximately 10,000 were for an unpaid right of way, according to data obtained by the Journal thanks to the access law. to information.
However, these have fallen since the pandemic. In 2022, only 6,315 fines were issued, including 5,048 for not having paid for a ticket
The STM, which is experiencing serious financial problems, is thus depriving itself of hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.
While the fines generated more than $500,000 in 2018, they only made it possible to collect $272,000 in 2022. Remember that the shortfall for the transport company is $60 million.
More not paying
Of course, lower traffic than before the pandemic can partly explain this drop. By the end of 2022, the network had regained almost 70% of its pre-pandemic traffic
However, these figures also translate into the fact that special constables have “almost no time” to carry out checks, argues Mr. Grenier.
The time of these peace officers is indeed monopolized by an explosion in the number of emergency calls which has increased annually from “26,000 to 40,000” since the health crisis.
“We have about 9,000 calls for socio-community assistance, says Mr. Grenier. It means that we spend a lot of time helping vulnerable people, among others, ”he adds, giving the example of people experiencing homelessness.
The lack of dissuasion among users tempted not to pay for their ticket or subscription is thus felt.
“Station attendants and bus drivers alike are telling us that there has been a stark increase in fraud since the pandemic.”
Same observation with Pino Tagliaferri, president of the union of STM bus drivers, according to whom there are between “20% and 25%” of users who board buses illegally.
“Customers are paying less and less. They tell us: I’m going to buy my ticket or the STM tolerates the first of the month. They give us many reasons. It’s phenomenal!”
Mr. Tagliaferri is worried about the magnitude of the phenomenon in a context where the STM cannot afford to lose money. “It is clear that it harms at all levels.”
Not enough
According to Mr. Grenier, the STM’s special constables have also been understaffed for several years. There are currently 162 in the network compared to 187 in 2015.
“In the last 10 years, we have had 25 departures who have not been replaced.”
Mr. Grenier believes that raising this number to about 200 would “ensure a good presence” of special constables in the network.
By email, the STM indicated that the intervention priorities of special constables “have evolved” since the pandemic since “certain complex social phenomena” are more present in the network.
Although it has no reliable indicator on the phenomenon of unpaid passages in its network, the STM declared that “nothing indicates” that this scourge has worsened in recent years.
“We do not have information or elements that would allow us to identify significant changes in the level of unacknowledged passages, but we follow the observations of our employees in the field closely, as well as the results of our operations. of title control,” wrote spokesman Philippe Déry.
Statements of offense issued by the STM since 2012
- 2012: 14,302
- 2013: 10,030
- 2014: 6,209
- 2015: 11,284
- 2016: 14,026
- 2017: 13,904
- 2018: 13,763
- 2019: 13,657
- 2020: 8,083
- 2021: 10,010
- 2022: 6,315