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Launch of line 252 –Navette Or Montréal-Nord
Montreal, August 20, 2008– Messrs. Claude Trudel, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), Marcel Parent, mayor of the Montréal-Nord Borough, and Joe Magri, city councillor for the Rivière-des-Prairies district, today announced an entirely new bus service targeted primarily at senior citizens living in residences in Montréal-Nord and Rivière-des-Prairies. The new line 252 – Navette Or Montréal-Nord will make public transit trips in the area easier for seniors as of September 3.
The round-trip route of 12.5 km includes 26 stops that will serve several senior citizens’ residences located on Gouin Boulevard as well as the principal local points of interest for this clientele. In addition to the residences, the bus route will include, in particular, the CLSC Montréal-Nord, the recreation centre, the Henri-Bourassa swimming pool, the library at the cultural and community centre as well as businesses on Henri-Bourassa Boulevard.
Line 252 – Navette Or Montréal-Nord will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, between 9:30 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. at approximately 50-minute intervals. The number of the route will be displayed on a gold background at the shuttle stops to better highlight this new type of service.
« This new shuttle service is part of the service improvement program carried out with the financial support of the ministère des Transports and the City of Montréal. It 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 », declared Mr. Claude Trudel.
« I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. St-Jean, president of the Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retrait�es et pr�retrait�es (AQDR) – Section Montréal-Nord, for his invaluable contribution throughout the implementation of this service », added the chairman.
For his part, Mr. Marcel Parent added, « We are delighted with this initiative, as the new cultural and community facilities added over the past few years generate a high level of ridership. This new bus line will undoubtedly improve the quality of life for our older citizens, as they will now be able to plan their trips more easily and have direct access to our municipal facilities. »
« We are very pleased with this added service, as access to public transit is very important for our citizens. These days, older people are much more active, and this new shuttle will certainly contribute to their quality of life », stated Mr. Joe Magri, the elected official designated by Mr. Cosmo Maciocia, mayor of the Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Borough, to work with him on the transport dossiers.
In order to make people aware of the new line 252 – Navette Or Montréal-Nord, folders will be distributed at each of the senior citizens’ residences served by the shuttle. Community organizations will also promote the service. The boroughs will do the same through visits to the residences by elected officials. Finally, posters will be installed in locations frequented by seniors and on the shuttle route. For more information, transit users can call STM-INFO (786-4636). They can also call A-U-T-O-B-U-S (288-6287) to obtain the schedule at their bus stop. The STM’s Web site at www.stm.info also provides access to the schedules and features plenty of other useful information.
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