Thousands of public transit users in Montreal say they are getting increasingly frustrated because of the massive line-ups for buses.

“Every second bus sometimes is missing, so from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., chances are you’re waiting more than half an hour,” said Pina Teoli, who takes the 70 bus from the Côte-Vertu Metro station.

“The line up is for two buses. Sometimes, two buses come back to back; one will leave half empty, one leaves overcrowded.”

According to the city’s public transit managers who testified before a Quebec Labour Tribunal Thursday, maintenance workers are causing a major bus shortage on purpose to make it look like there is an insufficient number of vehicles on the road.

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Société de transport de Montréal (STM) management was trying to convince Judge Alain Turcotte that maintenance workers are carrying out are illegal pressure tactics that are keeping buses off the road and in the garage.

Union workers argued back that there are fewer buses  in operation due to the difficult weather, as well as lack of equipment and poor training.

“It’s just the weather,” said union Vice-President Bruno Pierre Gauthier. “Just think of your car during this time.”

In addition, the union says there is a severe shortage of mechanics — and they’d rather be negotiating with the STM than bringing their labour dispute before a judge.

According to Luc Mercier, the head of the STM’s maintenance centres, the transit company has more than 1,800.

In order for the entire bus network to run smoothly, just over 1,400 need to be on the roads.

Currently, there are between 1,200 and 1,300 buses circulating in the city.

“There should be more buses, really. Especially, they should come on time — they shouldn’t be five minutes early or five minutes late,” said commuter Franky Lacopo.

“I feel especially bad for the people who are freezing outside — like me.”

In the first five weeks of 2019, STM superintendent Sylvain St-Denis told the labor tribunal that 430,000 customers were affected by the bus shortage.

He claims the problem has been getting steadily worse since 2018.

“I’ve never seen a trend like that over the course of a year,” said St-Denis, an STM employee for over 20 years.

The hearing continues on Friday, when the union will bring forth its own witnesses.

The judge is expected to render a decision next week.

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