My Alerts Montréal, February 14, 2012 – The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) announces the establishment of a new bus line that will serve the Pointe-Saint-Charles district of the Sud-Ouest Borough and provide a direct link with Lionel-Groulx, Charlevoix and LaSalle stations on the metro’s Orange and Green lines starting next February 27.
“The result of collaborative work by Sud-Ouest Borough and L’Action gardien, the neighbourhood’s community issue table, the 71 – Du Centre bus line will provide more frequent service between Sud-Ouest and Verdun Boroughs, as well as a more direct link with the métro’s Green and Orange lines. The implementation of this new service shows the determination behind our on-going efforts to develop and adapt our bus network to the specific needs of each sector,” declared STM Board Chairman, Michel Labrecque.
“Introducing the 71 bus line will fill an important void by making it easier for Pointe-Saint-Charles’ residents to use public transit and by providing them with access to key locations that were previously not served by transit. I want to emphasize the contribution of citizens and community organizations in making this project a reality, as well as the STM’s for taking the time to consult the local population. The establishment of the new bus line is part of our collective vision, as borough officials, for improving the quality of life for our citizens,” also declared Benoit Dorais, mayor of Sud-Ouest Borough.
“We are proud that the additional bus service will also serve part of Verdun’s territory,” declared Verdun Borough mayor, Claude Trudel, also responsible for public security at the City of Montréal, adding that “While providing access to LaSalle métro station, the new route will also help increase foot traffic for our retail businesses nearby.”
The 71 – Du Centre bus line will operate Monday to Sunday, from the time the métro opens until 10 p.m. with buses running every 30 minutes all day. Its itinerary complements the route served by the 57 bus line. Indeed, in addition to covering the neighbourhood, it fully meets local needs by directly serving the main points of interest in the area: Du Centre street, major supermarkets (Atwater Market, Super C Atwater, Maxi Verdun), schools and community services. Direct access to the metro’s Orange line (at Lionel-Groulx) provides significant added value for workers in the neighbourhood and meets with a request by Nordelec. Moreover, the new line will travel along a section of Charlevoix St. between the Lachine Canal and Notre-Dame St. that is not currently served by public transit.
Introduced in the wake of the service improvement program funded equally by the Government of Québec and the City of Montréal, these improvements represent an increase in service of about 13,000 hours per year and will require an additional two buses.
Transit users can look up the winter Planibus for bus timetables. Customers can also get timetable information by telephone by calling the AUTOBUS line at 514 288-6287, from the STM web site at stm.info or mobile site at m.stm.info, through SMS cellphone messaging by calling 52786 or from our iPhone app.
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