Rethinking tomorrow: the STM unveils its 2018 Annual Report

Montréal, April 12, 2019 – Today, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is unveiling its 2018 Annual Report, titled Repenser demain : le mot d’ordre de 2018.

ITo provide a complete profile of the year 2018 at the STM, the Annual Report is broken down into six integrated documents and gives a comprehensive overview of the company’s activities during the past year. The documents include the Progress Report, Financial Statements and Reports on the 2025 Strategic Organizational Plan, the 2025 Sustainable Development Plan, the 2020 Accessibility Plan [JM1] and, new this year, the 2020 [JM2] Equal Opportunity Employment Plan.

Philippe Schnobb, Chairman of the Board of Directors, says that this Annual Report was “a comprehensive representation of the past year, demonstrating more than ever that the STM is in action mode and accelerating the implementation of its Strategic Organizational Plan, the 2025 SOP, by pursuing a clear vision, namely excellence in mobility, which inevitably means improving customer experience.”

In 2018, the STM continued the accelerated implementation of the 2025 SOP and laid the foundation for years to come, including projects for 2019, a year which will be marked by major construction with preparations for the arrival of the REM, the continuation of the Pie-IX BRT project, the introduction of new bus priority measures (BPM) and the continuation of work on our bus garages and underground garages. 

A bus network in full transformation

An extensive consultation was held with customers and staff in fall 2018 to lay the foundation for the review of the bus network in light of several major public transit development projects that will be completed by 2026.

Changes to the bus network also include the renewal of our fleet of vehicles. Major steps have already been taken, including the awarding of contracts for 830 hybrid buses and 38 electric buses as well as adaptation work in our bus garages over the next several years. The innovative concept of the future Bellechasse bus garage is a good reflection of the path that the STM wants to take.

At Transport adapté, we continued the deployment of Extra Connecte, our real-time trip management system, which will contribute significantly to improving customer experience and ensuring the long-term viability of this growing service.

A métro network in improvement mode

Once again this year, the métro network saw a major increase in ridership and an enhancement of the service provided. A significant increase in ridership in western stations on the Green and Orange lines was noted, in particular due to large-scale projects in this sector.

Customer experience was improved by the implementation of Espaces clients in 16 stations, on-time deployment of 52 AZUR trains in the network despite a delivery delay and rollout of the mobile network, bringing the number of connected stations to 50. Moreover, the project office for the extension of the Blue line officially began preparatory work for the awarding of future contracts.

In 2018, more than 5,600 minutes of service disruptions caused by customer behaviour affected the trips of more than four million passengers. The majority of these disruptions could have been avoided. Several strategies have been developed to improve this issue, including better identifying our staff on train platforms and launching a new campaign aimed at preventing service disruptions caused by passengers.

An ongoing commitment to sustainable development, universal accessibility and diversity

Some of the initiatives that were completed in 2018 include a 3.1% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per passenger kilometre and the retirement of the last MR-63 car, with 87% of the materials from 333 cars being reused or recycled.

With regard to universal accessibility, 100 hybrid buses with two spaces for people in wheelchairs were added to the bus fleet, bringing the percentage of buses equipped with front ramps to 67.7%. The Honoré-Beaugrand and du Collège métro stations became accessible by elevator, bringing the total number of accessible stations to 14. In addition, an inclusive mobility strategy and a training program on using the regular bus and métro networks was developed for customers with functional limitations.

Increased ridership in 2018

In 2018, the STM introduced an additional indicator, electronic ridership, which makes it possible to more accurately characterize network use. This indicator is calculated on the basis of the remarkable volume of electronic data generated by the OPUS system, taking into account initial boardings, transfer times and trip disruptions. Conventional ridership is based on fare sales and the estimated average use of unlimited fares (e.g., monthly, weekly). This method is used by the Canadian public transit industry and, among other things, for public funding allocation. Service provided is, however, based on operational indicators of ridership per line.

According to the calculation method used, the STM saw a significant increase in ridership (3.5% in electronic ridership and 4.9% in traditional ridership) in 2018. This increase can be explained by the city’s economic vitality, sustained employment growth, the increase in the bus and métro service provided, the expansion of reduced fares (40% discount) to full-time students aged 26 and over since September 1, 2017, road works and measures to encourage motorists to use public transit, and the vitality of tourism, which still played a key role in 2018, one year after the festivities marking Montréal’s 375th anniversary.

A substantial increase in the 2019 budget in keeping with our vision

With a 2019 annual budget of nearly $1.5 billion for operations and $1.5 billion in investments, the STM also has a 2019-2028 Capital Expenditure Program totalling nearly $16 billion over ten years. These investments include the extension of the métro’s Blue line, the addition of 17 AZUR trains following the major agreement reached in 2018, the completion of the Côte-Vertu garage, the construction of bus garages and the acquisition of 300 additional buses as of 2020.

“In addition to building tomorrow’s network, these investments will allow us to maintain our assets in good condition, which is a major challenge given that all the work must be done without interrupting service. All our efforts have enabled us to reduce the deficit in asset maintenance by $700 million in the past three years, bringing it to $3.4 billion,” says Chief Executive Officer Luc Tremblay.

“Our 10,000 employees surpassed themselves once again this year and will likely do so again next year, especially given that 95% of them now have a brand new work contract,” says Tremblay. “Members of the Board of Directors and the executive committee join us in thanking them for all their efforts,” concludes Philippe Schnobb.

The Annual Report is available : http://www.stm.info/sites/default/files/pdf/fr/ra2018.pdf

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Information :     Isabelle A. Tremblay
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