Canadian AM stations increasingly being salvaged with all-traffic radio news

When a radio station in Vancouver became the first in North America to change its format to non-stop traffic reports in 2006, it was viewed by some as a desperate move from an industry that ran out of old ideas, and couldn't be bothered to develop new ones.

But the concept has proven to be worth something in the age of ever-soaring gasoline prices.

Transport Quebec has announced a scheme to take over two vacant spots on the dial in Montreal as part of a partnership with its new owner Cogeco.

Traffic reports will be heard on the 690 and 940 frequencies in both English and French between 4:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. weekdays. Morning show hosts will get to sleep in for 90 minutes on the weekend.

Programming will include status updates about main highways and bridges, advice on which routes to avoid, road conditions, information on road work sites and tips on highway safety.

And because traffic on the radio is now expected to be reported together with weather, the Montreal stations will deliver those details, too.

The new format marks a resurrection of two long-time frequencies that signed off with no ceremony whatsoever in January 2010. Corus Entertainment attempted to run a French news and talk station during the preceding decade as Info 690.

The sister station, AM940, switched to mostly automated oldies music in 2008 after a failed attempt to offer a combination of local and syndicated English-language chat shows.

Meanwhile, talk radio started to integrate more traffic updates, even if there was nothing to report. Clearly, there was more demand for these reports than most other topics.

So, what would happen if the stuff between the traffic and weather together was eliminated entirely? Montreal will find out soon enough.

The theory was cautiously put to the test in Vancouver, whose AM730 was forced by low ratings to give up on music by 2001, but failed to gain a following for all-news, talk or sports formats.

Ratings for the seven-minute "traffic wheel" offered by the station in morning and afternoon drive quickly doubled anything it tried before. As a result, "All Traffic, All the Time" became a profitable 24-hour format for owner Corus.

Rather than give away prizes, like most other radio stations, AM730 has promised to save listeners money by cutting down their time spent behind the wheel.

The fresh-faced staff who deliver the reports obviously don't cost much, either.

(CBC Photo)