The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is launching a new campaign this fall to highlight what its customers can do when riding STM to offer everyone a better overall travel experience. The campaign will be rolled out system wide on STM’s digital communication channels and in print
The campaign will focus on five key habits chosen for their positive impact on service reliability and the comfort of customers and employees:
- Wearing headphones when using a cell phone: This is the first network-wide campaign encouraging people to respect others and their right to a calm environment by not making calls, playing games, or listening to music on speakerphone.
- Letting the metro doors close: Holding the doors open stops the train from leaving on time and can cause service interruptions if the doors get jammed.
- Keeping personal belongings away from the metro tracks: When customers drop items onto the tracks, it can damage the trains. Plus, the power needs to be cut so that staff can retrieve them, which causes service interruptions.
- Putting your bag at your feet: This is a good habit on both the bus and metro. It frees up space, makes the vehicle feel less crowded and helps prevent falls and injuries in case of sudden stops.
- Being kind to others: The STM is sending a broad message of respect and kindness toward both transit employees and fellow customers.
Focusing on the positives
The campaign is based on the idea that good habits are contagious. The distinctive retro style, use of positive language and cheerful illustrations are all designed to encourage customers to keep up their good habits through positive reinforcement.
“With this campaign, the STM wants to reach people who may be unintentionally doing the wrong things or who may be unaware that their actions can make transit service less reliable and the customer experience less enjoyable,” said STM CEO Marie-Claude Léonard. “By focusing on the positives that come from good habits, the STM hopes to start a positive feedback loop with customer habits.”
In 2023, STM saw that 18 percent of the time lost due to service interruptions or slowdowns was caused by customer behavior due to objects being dropped onto the tracks and eight percent was due to people holding the doors open.
According to STM surveys:
- 34 percent of customers say that disrespectful and unkind behavior seems to be on the rise.
- 78 percent of bus customers and 84 percent of metro customers say they have witnessed disrespectful or unkind behavior on public transit.
