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A brillant
fall at the STM Montreal, August 27, 2008 – Mr. Claude Trudel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), today announced a new series of measures to increase service on the bus and métro networks as of September 2. Before proceeding with the announcement of the fall service improvements, the Chairman was eager to review the measures implemented since last January. REVIEW « The review of ridership on the bus and métro network for the first six months of 2008 is very promising. It indicates that our efforts are bearing fruit, with the number of trips on the STM’s network in the Greater Montréal area rising by 7.5 million in comparison with the same period last year. This represents an increase of 4% », Mr. Trudel stated proudly. «A number of factors should be taken into account in explaining this new trend, not the least of which are the various service improvement measures, as the results prove in our opinion. As for other factors, we should mention the opening of the three Montréal métro stations in Laval in the spring of 2007 as well as the increase in the price of fuel ». More excellent news. From January to September inclusively, the STM will have added close to 100 000 hours of service on the bus network, including more than 30 000 hours in September. The early results on the measures implemented outside rush hour this year are also encouraging overall. In fact, certain bus lines have seen a ridership increase of up to 50%, and the customer satisfaction rate, measured on these lines over this period, has risen. In addition, the service increase of 17% in January 2008 on métro lines 1, 2 and 5, principally outside rush hour, continues to show excellent results. « It appears evident that, through the implementation of our service improvement program, we are on the way to achieving the objectives set by the Quebec Public Transit Policy. » stated the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Trudel reaffirmed that this initiative, financed in equal parts by the ministère des Transports du Québec and the City of Montréal, is targeted at increasing the service offer by 16 % so as to increase ridership by 8% over the next five years. FALL IMPROVEMENTS Express routes in
service throughout the day In addition, line 470 Express Pierrefonds, which continues to attract new users since the recent service additions, will now provide rapid service to the métro until 6:30 p.m. daily, including weekends. « The express services, which bring clients downtown more quickly without the need to transfer, support the métro network and are much appreciated by clients during rush hour. », explained the Chairman of the Board. « In addition, the improvements on the métrobus lines are linked to the addition of service on the métro network outside rush hour ». Lines serving
commercial arteries Lines in service
later at night Lines in service
earlier on Sundays in the West Island Launch of shuttles
for senior citizens The routes will serve several senior citizens’ residences as well as the principal local points of interest for this clientele, including shopping plazas and health, recreational and community centres. To enable shuttle users to easily recognize the stops for these lines, the route number will be displayed on a gold background on the bus stop panels. On the one hand, the bus providing service on line 252 Navette Or Montréal-Nord will run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, between 9:30 a.m. and 3:15 p.m., at approximately 50-minute intervals. On the other hand, due to the particular routes taken by the shuttles, the service on lines 253 Navette Or Saint-Michel and 254 Navette Or Rosemont will use a 14-seat minibus, which offers more flexibility than a traditional bus. Line 253 runs on Wednesdays and Fridays, between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., at approximately 80-minute intervals, while line 254 runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., at approximately 65-minute intervals. « This new shuttle service was created expressly to respond to the specific needs of senior citizens with regard to travel in their area and to encourage their participation in community life », stated Mr. Trudel. « Consultation with the community, in particular with representatives from various local organizations, brought this project to fruition. » A new service between
downtown and Nuns’ Island During morning rush hour, the buses will take a southbound route from the first stop located at the Lucien-L’Allier train station. They will make two other downtown stops to link up Central Station and métro line 2 – orange, and will continue on to serve the Cité du Multim�dia, the municipal buildings on Brennan Street and finally the Bell Campus. Northbound, the buses will follow the same route in reverse. Public taxi service
Campus Bell/Place du commerce Île-des-Sœurs Addition of a car on
line 2 - orange during morning and afternoon rush hours This initiative results, on the one hand, from the optimization of the inspection and maintenance procedure that freed up three cars and, on the other hand, from the redistribution of métro cars from the network onto line 2 - orange. Six cars from line 4 – yellow were also added to this line. The frequency on this line will improve by close to one minute with the addition of a six-car train (five trains instead of four). This operation also allows us to use exclusively re-designed MR73 cars on the orange line, thus providing access to individuals with reduced mobility in some stations. In closing, the Chairman added, « With all this good news that I’ve just shared with you, I’m sure you can appreciate the numerous efforts undertaken by the STM to provide its clientele with an exceptional service offer. » « I am also pleased to announce that between now and the end of the year, we will be taking delivery of 105 new buses and that in 2009 we will acquire some 350 new buses, including articulated buses, which will no doubt enable us to continue our service improvements and concentrate particularly on increasing service during rush hour » proudly concluded the Chairman of the Board. – 30 –
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