Launch of the 480 – Pointe-Nord Île-des-Soeurs bus line
Montreal, April 10, 2008 - The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) today announced a new bus service, mainly aimed at the workers of Cité du multim�dia, the Ville de Montréal building on Rue Brennan and the new Bell Campus currently under construction on the northern tip of Île-des-Sœurs, known as Pointe-Nord. Service on the 480 – Pointe-Nord Île-des-Sœurs line will come into operation this September 1.
“The startup of this new service is the result of concerted efforts by the STM, the Borough of Verdun, Ville de Montréal and Bell Canada,” declared Mr. Claude Trudel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the STM. “This initiative, which follows in the wake of the Public Transit Service Improvement Program announced last autumn, improves the service offered to our clientele in the sectors under development. It thus will serve over 1,000 customers starting this autumn.”
“The creation of a new line will provide an efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation solution for the thousands of employees of the new Bell Campus,” said Ms. Maarika Paul, Senior Vice-President, Real Estate Development and Corporate Responsibility at Bell Canada. “Our new campus will favour collaboration, stimulate innovation and support a high-performance culture at Bell. We are delighted to establish it in a dynamic borough like Verdun.”
“This new service is excellent news for the people who work in the Cité du multim�dia employment hub and on Île-des-Sœurs,” declared Bernadette Brun, General Manager of Voyagez Fut�, the Downtown Transportation Management Centre. “The 480 - Pointe-Nord Île-des-Sœurs bus line will make it even easier for workers in these sectors to choose public transit and will reduce the hassles related to automobile use, for the benefit of society as a whole.”
Service on the 480 – Pointe-Nord Île-des-Sœurs line will be offered at 10 to 15 minute intervals, during rush hours, from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and from 3:15 to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday (except statutory holidays).
The route, with a projected trip time of about 15 minutes, will link Downtown Montréal and the new Bell Campus, in addition to offering increased service to the Cité du multim�dia sector and the Ville de Montréal offices. The bus line will also allow transfers with all the commuter trains in the territory of the Lucien-L’Allier Station and Central Station, with métro Line 2 – Orange at the Lucien-L’Allier and Bonaventure stations and with the 410, 420, 430 and 535 buses on Boulevard Ren�-L�vesque. Finally, customers coming from other métro lines will be able to transfer to the Orange line to get to one of the two stations served by the new line.
During the morning rush hour, the buses on this one-way line will depart from the bus stop located at the corner of Rue de la Montagne and Rue de La Gaucheti�re. The route’s five stops are located at the corner of Rue Mansfield and Boulevard Ren�-L�vesque, Rue University and Rue De La Gaucheti�re, Rue Nazareth and Rue Wellington, Rue Nazareth and Rue Brennan, and the terminus on Île-des-Sœurs. The buses will make the afternoon rush hour trip in the opposite direction from Île des Sœurs to Downtown.
“The addition of this bus route represents an increase of about 6,300 service hours per year and requires four additional vehicles to provide the service,” Mr. Trudel explained. “This new service clearly shows the STM’s intention to encourage public transit use and thus contribute to protecting the environment.”
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