STM rolls out text message reporting on its bus network

As with reports made in the métro system, text messages will be received directly in the monitoring room, then analyzed and assigned to the right resources at the right time. These include safety ambassadors, special constables and the SPVM.

Now covering the entire STM network, text message reporting has been rolled out at the customers’ request to increase their sense of safety and enable the timely and discreet reporting of non-urgent situations. 

Since its launch in the métro network in November 2024, some 25,000 reports have been received by the monitoring team, leading to more than 7,000 interventions by Bus & Métro Safety teams.

“Our data shows that customers’ appreciate the text message reporting tool, as it facilitates interventions and strengthens the feeling of safety. We have therefore expanded access to this tool across the entire network,” said Marie-Claude Léonard, Chief Executive Officer of the STM. “This initiative is part of our commitment to providing services that allow our customers to travel with full confidence.”

This tool complements other options already available to customers to report urgent situations that call for an emergency response, such as picking up the assistance telephone on the platform, using the intercom system on trains, notifying on-site STM personnel or calling 911.

Safety measures in place

The STM continuously rolls out and adjusts its measures to foster a sense of safety among its customers and employees across its network. 

As announced on June 18, the move along order remains in effect in all STM facilities until April 30, 2026, in order to document its impacts over a year and thus allow for a comprehensive evaluation of the measure following the full winter season. This measure serves as an additional and preventive tool. It is applied with discernment according to a rigorous decision-making framework that takes into account factors such as weather conditions, the individual’s willingness, their physical condition, their clothing, and the availability of resources. Each situation is assessed on a case by case basis.
Once again this year, STM is increasing its teams’ presence by deploying special constables and security ambassadors based on a dynamic station targeting approach driven by incident and reporting data. Plain-clothed special constables working in pairs will also be on duty to detect disruptive behaviour on trains. The STM further supports its teams by deploying an additional 10 new special constables, for a total of 181 constables in the field. A cohort of safety ambassadors is also on hand within the network to assist customers. 

Starting this year, a cohort of ticket inspectors have been deployed across the network to check transit fares, ensure compliance with revenue protection regulations and raise customer awareness to prevent fraud. Their involvement will also eventually relieve special constables from this task so they can focus their efforts elsewhere in the network.

Social and community approach

The STM has signed several partnerships and agreements in recent years to promote the presence of social and community organizations in its network, referrals to necessary resources for vulnerable people, timely access to primary health care, and psychosocial intervention. 

This year, the STM and L’Itinéraire are joining forces to bring social intervention into seven downtown metro stations. Psychosocial workers from the AIR program — Accompagnement et intervention de rue — are now present daily to build connections, listen, provide comfort, guide people toward appropriate resources, and support, with respect and dignity, individuals experiencing vulnerability within the network.