AZUR not for short people: New Metro car receives mixed reviews from commuters
Consumers' comments, complaints obtained through access to information request, 2 months after train's launch
AZUR, the Montreal Metro system's newest train, is turning heads in stations, but commuters are writing and calling in to the transit corporation with their thoughts – and complaints.
Montreal's transit corporation, the STM, received more than 50 comments from passengers in the AZUR's first two months in service, and more than half say they have major complaints.
CBC obtained the comments through an access to information request.
More than half of the complaints concern the positioning of the horizontal grab bars installed on the roof of the train.
"The support bars are inaccessible because they are too high," one commuter wrote in.
"I am 5 foot 10 and I can just reach it."
Bars too high, too close to seats for comfort
Charlotte Lacoursière has only managed to catch the AZUR twice since it went into service.
She says it definitely got commuters excited when they realized which train they were taking, but the AZUR provided a less than perfect commute.
"I didn't think it was going to be that way. I think that the distance between the [horizontal] bar and the seats is way too tight," she said.
"It's uncomfortable."
Ventilation too strong
One-third of the complaints that came in to the STM had to do with the ventilation of the train.
"The ventilation system in the train pushes the air directly in the faces of users facing forward," one commuter wrote in.
Another warned the STM to have ambulances ready to go at each station in the summer, because the heat would cause a lot of problems.
People with reduced mobility forgotten
For Nicole Teed, the biggest issue with the new train is the way the poles — both horizontal and vertical — are spaced out.
"The problem is that [for] someone who has reduced mobility, there is too much space from a handle to the door without any other bars to hold onto," she said.
Another commuter who emailed the STM said the lack of seats is also a problem.
"I am very disappointed to learn there are [fewer] seats on the new AZUR trains because you haven't thought of any other people with reduced mobility besides those using wheelchairs. It's insulting," that commuter wrote.
Font too small
"The map inside the train is written in small font, and it's not easy at all to consult," one user called in to complain.
The maps are placed by the doors of the metro with an electronic board above, stating which buses are available at the next station and the current time.
"Even sitting right in front of it, I had trouble reading the station names," one commuter wrote in.
Consultations taken into account, STM says
The STM refused the CBC's interview request.
In an email, STM spokeswoman Amélie Régis wrote that the transit corporation held consultations with users between 2007 and 2012 about the new AZUR trains.
"More than 500 clients gave their opinions [about the full-scale model] and 93 per cent were positive about the general concept," Régis said.
Régis said 90 per cent agreed with the interior design, and 88 per cent liked the exterior appearance.
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