The Ville de Montréal and the STM unveil the bus shelter of the 21st century

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The Ville de Montréal and the STM
unveil the bus shelter of the 21st century


Montréal, November 8, 2010
In the wake of the bus shelter design competition, Michel Labrecque, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), and Helen Fotopulos, Ville de Montréal Executive Committee member responsible for Culture, Heritage, Design and the Status of Women, today unveiled the three bus shelter prototypes designed by the Leblanc + Turcotte + Spooner consortium and manufactured by Provincial Sign Systems. These prototypes result from a concept allowing different possible size configurations depending on the traffic at the stops to meet the riders’ comfort and safety needs.

The launch was held in front of the “universal” prototype, located at the corner of Boulevard René-Lévesque and Rue Jeanne-Mance, in the presence of Manon Barbe, Executive Committee member responsible for Transportation, Tatjana Leblanc, representative of the Leblanc + Turcotte + Spooner consortium of designers, winners of the design competition announced last January, and Ken Duxbury, representative of the manufacturer, Provincial Sign Systems.

“Our Administration wants to encourage as many people as possible to use public transit. We are proposing a real change in habits and behaviour. That’s why we doing whatever is necessary to offer them a pleasant experience in terms of time and comfort. The new bus shelter project is additional proof of our intentions. Another tremendous advantage is that we are achieving two goals at the same time: in addition to improving service to STM users, we have an innovative product that reinforces Montréal as a UNESCO City of Design due to the talent of local designers,” Ms. Fotopulos said.

“This new bus shelter design spins off into three types, “standard”, “universal” and “standard with extension”, which can include, in particular, a display advertising support, a bench and a solar power system. The STM will conduct surveys with its regular clientele and the associative community to find out their assessment and will evaluate these prototypes in terms of maintenance. It will issue the public call for tenders next spring for manufacturing of the 400 bus shelters for its entire system. Thus, the STM will add to and replace its existing inventory gradually to meet its riders’ new needs in terms of the comfort, cleanliness, accessibility and safety of its facilities,” Mr. Labrecque declared.

Inspired by the STM’s new visual identity, “Society in Motion”, the other two prototypes, “standard” and “standard with extension”, will be installed respectively by the beginning of December at the corner of Rue Saint-Hubert and Rue Legendre, in Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough and at the Langelier metro station, in Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough.

The STM is also taking the opportunity to test a totem pole with a more modern signposting system, corresponding to the new visual identity, near the new prototype located at the corner of Boulevard René-Lévesque and Rue Jeanne-Mance. This totem pole eventually will replace the bus stop pole.

Remember that the Leblanc + Turcotte + Spooner proposal presents a modular and scalable solution. The proposed concept, with its freestanding structure, allows production of basic models and interconnection of several units to create configurations of variable sizes, capable of accommodating a greater number of travellers. A column dedicated to communication could accommodate different components, such as dynamic display and backlit advertising posters. A solar energy system is proposed to light bus shelters at locations without access to the power grid.

To see and comment the three bus shelter prototypes, visit the STM web site.

About the STM
The STM won the American Public Transportation Association award as best transit corporation in North America in 2010. This award was presented for the excellent results it obtained between 2007 and 2009 in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.

   

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