L’Itinéraire vendors – Familiar faces returning to the métro

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is pleased to announce that, starting today, L’Itinéraire magazine vendors will be returning to selected métro stations for a pilot project. Customers will have the opportunity to see some familiar, friendly faces that were part of their pre-pandemic transit experience. Their return will follow structured and guided procedures defined in a plan set up by the STM and L’Itinéraire, which was approved by public health authorities to ensure the safety of vendors, customers and employees.

Conditions
Various non-essential activities were suspended in the métro in April 2020. The progress made this spring regarding the health situation means that the STM can gradually and iteratively reintroduce these activities provided that all the following conditions are met:

• Vendors are not showing symptoms, waiting for test results or in isolation.
• The required protective equipment is worn at all times.
• Interactions in close proximity (including hand-to-hand distribution) are limited.
• The duration of interactions is kept to a minimum.
• Gatherings of all kinds are avoided.
• Actions that can spread droplets (e.g., shouting, singing, using a wind instrument, laughing heartily) are prohibited.

These conditions are based on a recent notice from Montréal’s public health authority. Moreover, to allow vendors to return to the métro, only digital issues of the magazine will be sold via contactless SMS payments. All vendors have been vaccinated and taken a safety and security training adapted for the pandemic context.

Targeted stations
For the pilot project, vendors will return to the following stations as of today: Laurier, Lionel-Groulx, Berri-UQAM, Université-de-Montréal, Radisson, Bonaventure and McGill. The STM and L’Itinéraire will assess the situation in a few weeks, and should the results be positive, the project may be extended to other stations and involve more vendors.

The STM commends the close collaboration of its partner, L’Itinéraire, in the organization of this pilot project and is proud to continue to do its part in addressing the complex social issue of homelessness.

The return of other activities
At this time, other activities are not expected to resume in the near future, including artistic performances by musicians in the métro, as we cannot ensure that these activities will meet all necessary conditions. The STM is aware of the financial impact of this situation on the artists who perform in the métro, and it acknowledges their positive contribution to customers’ transit experience. A plan to allow musicians to resume their activities in the future is underway and will be presented in due time. Ensuring the safety of all—customers, employees and artists—is one of our top concerns and guides our decisions in this respect, along with compliance with the recommendations of experts.