Lack of drivers, mechanical breakdowns, overcrowded buses - in short, public transit service in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area is causing serious headaches for some users, who struggle to get service every week.

Such is the case of a young student at John Abbott College, a resident of Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac. 

"Since the start of the Cégep school year, I and other parents in the region have witnessed the flagrant lack of exo bus service. Sometimes transportation isn't cancelled due to a lack of drivers, while on other days, the buses are at full capacity and can't take any passengers," explains Ms. Julie Vallée, mother of an exo user. 

Ms. Vallée's daughter has to go to Cégep John-Abbott, in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, where she is pursuing her college studies. To get there, the student has to take the line 7 bus, one of whose stops is on Dumberry Street, near the Costco in Vaudreuil-Dorion.

"I've been complaining every week since the beginning of the school year, but nothing changes, not even the price of the bus pass. All I'm told is that my complaint will be escalated internally, that we'll see what can be done," adds Ms. Vallée.

Mrs. Vallée and other parents are therefore forced, at least once a week, to provide transportation to the College for students left stranded under the bus shelter.

"One morning, my daughter told me that there were three people standing on the bus because there were no benches. The driver passed my daughter without stopping to pick her up. She could easily have made the trip standing up," laments the mother. "In my mind, public transit is an essential service. It's not right that we shouldn't be entitled to this service, especially when it's offered," she adds.

"Exo is aware that every cancelled departure or every bus at full capacity has an impact on a customer's day. That's why we've been mobilizing for over a year, through our action cell, to find solutions to this issue, which we take very seriously," says Eric Edström, exo's media relations advisor, in an e-mail to Néomédia.

50 more drivers needed

"The labour shortage is indeed a major cause of trip cancellations in the southern ring," adds Mr. Edström.

Without having precise figures for the region, exo estimates a shortfall of some 50 drivers to fill all the vacancies on its network. 

"Our carriers often make up a portion of these staff shortages by working overtime, but when the shortfall is too great, we are unfortunately forced to cancel services," continues Eric Edström. 

On September 7, exo and its partners announced a number of measures to combat the labour shortage disrupting public transport in the medium and long term. These measures, some of which have already been deployed while others are underway, will, according to the transport operator, help maintain a reliable, quality transit service for the metropolitan region.  

"The problem won't be solved overnight. Nevertheless, I'm pleased to see that, in close collaboration with our partners, we are providing concrete solutions that, taken together, will have a positive impact for public transit users and our communities", said Sylvain Yelle, exo's General Manager, at the time of the announcement. 

A warning system

To offer greater predictability to users, exo has developed an alert system that informs customers of departures likely to be cancelled the following day due to staff shortages, directly in the Chrono application.

As Mr Edström points out, "some departures are cancelled due to other causes inherent in the operation of a bus fleet, such as mechanical problems, road congestion or human error. For these unforeseeable causes, it's impossible to send out an alert the day before."