Feeling squished? STM wants users to spread out more on the Metro

Riding Montreal's Metro system during rush hour can often lead to uncomfortably close encounters with strangers.

And it's not just because there aren't enough trains, according to the STM. 

The transit authority says people aren't doing a good job of spreading out in Metro cars. Now, it's looking for ways to encourage people to use the available space more efficiently. 

Despite having more elbow room on the Metro's new Azur cars — cars which allow riders to walk the full length of the train while it is in motion — crowds are congregating near the doors, STM board chair Philippe Schnobb told Radio-Canada's Gravel le matin.

This may be because Azur trains have horizontal hand rails that are higher up than earlier models, he said.

"I'm tall, and I have to stretch to reach them," he said.

Encouraging people to spread out more may include simple, short-term solutions such as putting arrows on the train's interior walls, guiding riders to move past the doors, he said.

The STM is also considering installing doors on the platforms of busy stations to help prevent personal items from falling on the tracks, causing further congestion in the public transit network.

The Green, Orange and Yellow lines were brought to a standstill during morning rush hour earlier this week after a pepper-spray incident on a Metro travelling between Champ-de-Mars and Berri-UQAM stations.

But congestion has been a regular problem in recent months, especially at Berri-UQAM.

Schnobb says some 66,000 people switch Metro lines between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Berri-UQAM, and that ridership on the Metro was up five per cent last year.

With ridership growing, he told CBC Montreal's Daybreak, "We have to think about new ways, and that means a new Metro line eventually."