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The STM presents its 2020 strategic plan project
aimed at a 40% growth in ridership over 10 years
Montréal, December 2, 2010 – The Chairman of the Société de transport de Montréal Board of Directors, Michel Labrecque, today presented the corporation’s 2020 strategic plan project to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. With the financial support of the Agglomeration of Montréal and Government of Québec, the STM has succeeded in increasing its bus and métro service by 21.8% in four years. The improvements have indeed produced positive results, with the corporation expecting to provide more than 386 million rides in 2010, topping the record set in 1949 ! ‘Our recent successes and the stated intention of both the Québec government and Montréal agglomeration of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% and 30% respectively by 2020, of reducing road traffic and of making public transportation a priority, have lead the STM to draw up a strategic plan for 2020 aiming for a 40% growth in ridership over 10 years. This is an ambitious plan, but entirely realistic, as long as the Montréal agglomeration and the Québec government uphold their support for public transit,’ declared Michel Labrecque. To reach 540 million rides by 2020, the STM plans on growing its offer of service by 32%, with a resulting 5% of cars users converting into public transit users. The 2020 strategic plan rests on six main priorities: developing services; improving the client experience and marketing approach; attracting, developing and engaging talented people; optimizing investment management; further improving performance, and making sustainability the key factor in all decision-making. The 2020 plan is largely based on developing and maintaining public transportation modes having a structuring effect, such as a métro and a tramway. Realistically, the plan includes the delivery of 468 new métro railcars, the addition of new métro stations on the Blue line to Anjou and on the Orange line to Bois-Franc, the roll-out of the initial tramway network along Côte-des-Neiges Road and in downtown. The STM also expects the expansion of its bus network to attract new clients, with the deployment of new bus rapid transit services (BRT) along Pie-IX and Henri-Bourassa boulevards, the addition of more than 400 buses and the establishment of nearly 300 kilometres of additional reserved lanes. Major efforts will also be dedicated to improving our network’s reliability, punctuality, client information, comfort and safety. To that end, the STM plans on implementing an operations support and client information system (iBus), over 850 new bus shelters, wireless technology in the métro, as well as new norms for passenger loads to guarantee more available seats in buses. In terms of fares, the STM aims for innovation, by introducing loyalty programmes, and more flexible fare products that are better suited to the needs of our different types of clients. As a committed corporate citizen, the STM assumes its responsibilities and wants to set an example in terms of sustainability. With this plan, the STM shows its commitment to reducing its environmental footprint and gradually electrifying its network so that all new vehicles run 100% on electricity as of 2025. ‘ The 2020 plan calls for investments of $11.9 B, of which nearly eight billion will be entirely dedicated to maintaining STM assets. For this plan to become a reality, the STM must be able to count on the continued financial contributions by the Montréal agglomeration and Québec government, in addition to the establishment of a new, dedicated, indexed and recurring source of funding,’ added Michel Labrecque. Finally, the STM feels that both the Montréal agglomeration and Québec government should implement a series of measures to manage the demand for single car use, in order to ensure that public transit becomes more attractive, and that goals in terms of lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduced road traffic are reached. The STM reminds that it received an Outstanding Public Transportation System in North America award from the American Public Transportation Association, for the excellent results achieved from 2007 to 2009 in terms of productivity and efficiency. A summary of the 2020 strategic plan project is now available (in French only) on the STM website at: http://www.stm.info/en-bref/plan_strategique2020.pdf – 30 –
