Safety: STM is reintroducing move along order for STM facilities, through April 30, 2026

“The move along order, in place for six weeks this winter, led to a noticeable increase in the sense of safety among both customers and employees, as well as a reduction in service interruptions caused by disruptive behaviour,” said Éric Alan Caldwell, Chair of the STM Board of Directors. “For us, these initial results speak for themselves and demonstrate the benefits of this measure, which allows us to refocus on our primary mission. We believe that reintroducing the order for a longer period of time will allow us to collect more data on how it affects our operations. By starting now, we’re also giving the entire social and community network time to adjust before the onset of cold weather. We recognize, however, that this is not an ideal solution. The real solution will be a tangible and sustainable response to help the vulnerable, including more funding for resources, all year long.”

“Our initial results clearly show that the move along order allows us to refocus our efforts on our primary mission, which is to provide reliable and safe public transit,” added Marie-Claude Léonard, STM General Manager. “We can keep things running smoothly, keep our people and customers safe, and provide a better experience for everyone. We can also focus our safety and maintenance resources where they are most needed. That is why we have decided to renew the move along order. We will continue assessing the impact and adapt our actions accordingly.”

Recap of the additional security measures

Before the order (November 2024 to February 2025):

• Crimes and offences: +26% vs. 2024
• People being escorted out at closing time: +25% vs. 2024
• Service disruptions: 153 service disruptions of more than 5 minutes caused by intentional disruptive behaviour incidents, the majority of which were people on the track, resulting in more than 35 hours of stoppages.
• Sense of safety: -5 points per month since January 2025, from 50% in January 2025 to 39% on March 13, 2025. That equates to a drop of 21 points compared to the previous year, while the sense of safety came in at 60% in March 2024.

An STM survey conducted from mid-February to mid-March 2025 shows that a proportion of customers avoid the metro network because they feel unsafe:

• 9% of customers cancelled at least one trip due to lack of safety
• This figure rises to 21% of customers when including those who considered cancelling at least one trip.
• The impact is greater among younger customers, with nearly one in two young people aged 11 to 15 saying that during the period in question, they changed their travel habits because they felt unsafe.

This loss of ridership due to cancelled trips could potentially result in a monthly revenue loss of approximately $1.2M for STM.

After the move along order was introduced (April 2025):

• Crimes and offences: -2% vs. April 2024
• People being escorted out at closing time:  -17% vs. April 2025
• Assaults on employees: -20% vs. April 2025
• Service disruptions: -30% reduction in the number of service disruptions lasting 5 or more minutes and caused by intentional disruptive behaviour, vs. April 2025
• Sense of safety: overall sense of sense improved by +8 points, from 39% in March to 47% in April

These figures show that the additional measures have made customers feel safer in the metro, reduced the number of service interruptions, and reduced assaults on STM employees. Unfortunately, crews on site have found that since the order ended, there has been an increase in the facilities being used for purposes other than travel by metro.

Reintroduction of the move along order in STM facilities

In light of the positive impact of the move along order from March to April, the STM Board of Directors has reintroduced the order in STM facilities, effective June 18, 2025, to April 30, 2026.

The renewal of this additional measure to take action in the event of a problem situation will make it possible to:

• Continue to collect data on the impact of the measure on STM operations throughout the winter period
• Maintain stability at the stations and maintain the safety of customers and employees
• Continue to improve the sense of safety of customers and employees, with the aim of restoring it to a normal level
• Maintain the reduction in violent incidents and antisocial behaviour, including verbal and physical assaults against people in the station
• Maintain hygiene standards by mitigating public health concerns
• Limit the number of service disruptions caused by intentional disruptive behaviour, including people on the track or in the tunnel
• Intervene with people using the station for purposes other than transportation, refer them to appropriate resources, and avoid imposing criminal penalties.

It is important to note that the order is one more tool to prevent incidents from escalating and to facilitate an appropriate response to social inequalities. The measure has not been, and will not be, applied systematically. It is an additional preventive tool to avoid tension and maintain stability at stations.

Requests for the health network

With a view to finding tangible and sustainable solutions to the issue of homelessness in Montréal, STM continues to lobby the health and social services network with these suggestions:

• Keep support services open 24/7, with a high level of accessibility and enough capacity to meet the needs of people near the Berri-UQAM and Bonaventure stations
• Support the 24/7 Mission St. Michaels resource near the Bonaventure metro
• Ensure that certain emergency shelters are open from early November to the end of April

To find out more about the teams operating in the network and how to reach them quickly and learn about our social and community approach, visit the Ride Safely page of our website.

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Briefing presented to the media (French only)

medias@stm.info