Montréal, December 18, 1996 - The STCUM announced today that it was officially making its first Nova LFS buses with lowered floors av

Dawn of a New Era in Public Transit:
the STCUM's First Nova LFS Buses Are Ready for Service.

{C}Montréal, December 18, 1996{C} - The STCUM announced today that it was officially making its first Nova LFS buses with lowered floors available to its regular ridership. The population will thus be able to have its first look at these modern buses travelling along Montréal streets and commuters on routes 14, 27, 47 and 51 will be able to board them, as these vehicles will be gradually integrated into the network on a sector-to-sector basis. Since the vehicles are presently being broken in, the STCUM estimates that they won't be available to wheelchair-bound passengers until spring of 1997.

According to the STCUM's General Manager, Trefflé Lacombe, this is an important moment in the Province's public transit history since the Nova LFS buses will allow greater access to persons with impaired mobility and improve transit conditions for the current ridership.

Thanks to their innovative design, these buses will also allow the STCUM to save substantially on fuel as well as on the cost of body maintenance since its is made of polymer and fibreglass, materials that are more resistant to rust and impacts.

Mr. Lacombe wished to commend the hard-working team at NovaBus who delivered the merchandise within the quality standards insisted upon by the STCUM. He thanked the STCUM employees that contributed their expertise as well as the members of the Board of Directors for their continued support. He also pointed out that this project was made possible thanks to a financial contribution from the ministère des Transports which subsidised 60% of the purchasing cost, adding that this was a perfect example of partnership and of sharing of skills that he hoped would benefit the commuters of the Greater Montréal area as a whole.

The STCUM signed the first purchasing agreement with NovaBus in the name of the member-companies of the Association des transporteurs urbains du Québec on July 6, 1993. This contract and those that followed, totalling over 200 million dollars, provide for the purchase of 640 buses with lowered floors. The STCUM alone expects to take delivery of about 40 vehicles before the end of January, 280 later in 1997 and 112 in 1998.

For additional information, customers should dial (514) 280-5100.