As winter approaches, the Martinez Ferrada administration, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) have unveiled six measures that work to strengthen the feeling of safety and cohabitation in the metro. The agency says these combine a greater presence in the field, improved social support, increased monitoring and more frequent service.

“Montrealers must feel safe in the metro at all times. As winter approaches, we are increasing our presence in the field, improving support for people in vulnerable situations and giving the STM additional tools to respond quickly. These initiatives are part of the city’s broader approach, which also includes the implementation of warming stations open 24/7 to provide dignified hospitality, support and safety to those in need,” said Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada.

The six measures are as follows:

1) A greater number of special constables: The city is set to invest C$6.4 million (US$4.5 million) per year to progressively add 52 special constables by the end of 2027, bringing the team to 230 members. In the meantime, the SPVM is set to add 12 police officers to the network this fall. The service says the greater presence will increase the frequency of patrols, ensure consistent coverage of stations identified as critical, reduce response times and work towards a greater sense of safety among riders and staff.

2) Enhanced monitoring capacity: The Operations Dispatch and Monitoring Center (CRVO) will be upgraded to increase the number of cameras with real-time monitoring among the network’s existing total of about 2,500 cameras. This enhancement is designed to facilitate the early detection of harmful and disruptive behavior, as well as improve response times and coordination with the SPVM and emergency services through live visual monitoring. The STM is investing C$3 million (US$2.1 million) to improve CRVO.

3) Closer partnership with the SPVM: The STM and SPVM are strengthening their collaboration to better respond to security issues and situations involving vulnerable people—a continuation of efforts that ramped up in 2025. In order to increase their presence in the field, the metro response and coordination team’s (EMIC) resources will be enhanced, increasing the number of brigades from two to six. This move is designed to expand coverage, particularly during winter evenings, and increase response capacity across the network.

4) More social workers in the metro: The city of Montreal, Quebec, and the STM have entered into a partnership with St. John Ambulance to ensure the presence of social workers in the metro. During winter, two teams consisting of a supervisor, a social worker and a security and liaison officer will travel the network seven days a week to address the needs of vulnerable individuals in an effort to improve community harmony. A single team will stay active for the rest of the year.

5) More frequent service by 2027: The city of Montreal plans to increase the metro’s service level by 5% as of the start of the 2027 school year, particularly in the evenings. The enhanced service offer aims to reduce wait times and provide more predictability for evening users. The implementation of this measure will be the largest STM service increase since 2017.

6) Appointment of Martin Prud’homme: To strengthen its security efforts, STM has created a new Safety and Organizational Resilience division, led by Martin Prud’homme. Having more than 30 years of experience with the Sûreté du Québec, the SPVM, the Ministère de la Sécurité publique and the city of Montreal, the agency says he will be tasked with ramping up efforts to improve security and the sense of safety across the network.

“Martin Prud’homme’s arrival at the helm of this new division, which will report directly to me, is a testament to our focus on safety. Despite our financial constraints, we are increasing our investments in safety year after year, and we will continue our efforts for as long as necessary to ensure that both customers and employees feel safe,” said STM CEO Marie-Claude Léonard.

Measures like this come after STM implemented an extended move along order, or introduced an expansion to its text massage reporting system to include its buses.