Commonly described by words such as “extremely uncomfortable” and “having to wait,” the 105 bus is used by many Concordia students use to get to the university’s Loyola campus in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
“It makes me not want to go to school”, says Danica Bourque, a psychology student who takes the 105 bus everyday to get to class. “There’s nothing worse than a jam-packed bus.”
However, that may change in the near future as there has been some recent talk at the Société de transport du Montréal of reintroducing trolley buses in some areas of the city — and the 105 bus line is one they’re seriously considering for the switch.
Electric trolley buses roamed the streets of Montreal from 1937 to 1966, until they were replaced by diesel buses.
Trolleys are generally bigger, more comfortable and less noisy than an average diesel bus, not to mention environmentally friendly. The STM estimates the cost of converting the 105 from bus to trolley at $750 million.
“I think it’s an excellent idea if there’s more room in them, I’m tired of feeling like a sardine every morning and every night”, says Margarita Miseros, a psychology student who is frequently at the Loyola campus.
The Montreal Gazette reported that the 105, which runs up and down Sherbrooke St. west of Decarie Blvd., carries an average of 17,000 passengers per day. Concordia students and staff alike showed their discontent with the 105 this summer by starting a petition on the Internet to ask the STM to boost service on the line.
Despite passing every three minutes during rush hour, the 105 bus line often remains crowded, a problem that STM vice-chairman Marvin Rotrand says they’re trying to fix.
“On this particular line, every time we add service instead of easing crowding, it attracts more riders,” explained Rotrand in an article by the Montreal Gazette.
San Francisco and Moscow are two of the biggest cities that still rely on tramways for their public transportation.
