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New buses are running in Montréal
Montreal, May 1, 2008 - The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) announces the introduction into service of eight biodiesel-electric hybrid buses, as part of Transport Canada’s Urban Transportation Showcase Program, with the financial support of the ministère des Transports du Québec. These new buses will be joining the two articulated bus prototypes loaned by Nova Bus Corporation that have been running on the 80 – Avenue-du-Parc, 165 – C�te-des-Neiges and 535 – R-Bus du Parc / C�te-des-Neiges bus routes since last March. Biodiesel-electric hybrid buses have arrived As announced last year, the STM has purchased biodiesel-electric hybrid buses, thereby carrying out its part of a joint public transit project with Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO), for the purpose of testing an integrated set of measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption. The STM will go ahead with a detailed assessment of the vehicles’ environmental performance, which will be monitored for a full year. Their performance will be compared to that of same-generation, conventional diesel drive buses that will be operated on the same routes and serve as a control group. The hybrid buses will be put into service on regular bus routes in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–C�te-des-Neiges, LaSalle and Verdun sectors. In Montréal, the project could lead to a potential reduction of 330 tons of GHG per year, equal to removing some sixty vehicles each running 20 000 km/yr. Such environmental gains would be the consequence of a 20% reduction in fuel consumption, based on results obtained by King County Transit in Seattle. Articulated buses also being tested The tests carried out with articulated buses will enable the STM to determine the level of appreciation by transit users for the new interior layout, as well as the space and passenger capacity of the new bus model. Testing should continue until the end of August 2008. During this period, questionnaires will be handed out by STM staff and passengers will be invited to take part in group discussions. The articulated bus is easily recognized by the new design of seats and support posts, the wider central aisle, the new rear window, and the new side windows, that open full-width from the top. It will enable the STM to provide better service to clients, while encouraging increased ridership on bus routes presenting potential for growth. The acquisition of these vehicles is part of a joint purchasing contract that was publicly tendered among Canadian manufacturers. Indeed, the STM has purchased 202 articulated city buses, of which the first will be delivered in Fall 2009 and be put into service in the streets of Montréal at that time. – 30 –
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