CUTA and ATUQ pay tribute to Pierre Giard's outstanding contribution to public transit

Two prestigious awards for Pierre Giard, the STL's former General Manager

LAVAL, QC, Dec. 19, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Pierre Giard, former General Manager of the Société de transport de Laval, saw all the work accomplished during his thirteen years of service to the STL recognized by two renowned public transit associations.

Individual Leadership Award

On Wednesday, November 14, the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) honoured Mr. Giard with the Distinguished Service Award, within the 2012 Individual Leadership Awards. This prestigious award annually presented to a "CUTA member who has furthered the standing of the public transit profession in Canada through professional practice and/or personal relations", underlines outstanding contributions to public transit in our country.

Antoine-Grégoire Award

In Saguenay on October 26, together with over 200 specialists in public transit, sustainable development and sustainable mobility who came together at the 9th edition of the annual conference of the Association du transport urbain du Québec (ATUQ), Pierre Giard was presented with the Antoine-Grégoire Award, an honour that he is sharing with another great builder of public transit—Normand Carrier, the former General Manager of the Réseau de transport de la Capitale.

A tribute award, annually presented to a person working, or having worked during his or her career, in the public transit field in Québec, the Antoine-Grégoire Award rewards a person who has significantly contributed to the development and promotion of public transit.

Excellence recognized and highlighted

These are two highly deserved awards for this seasoned administrator who, during his thirteen years of service at the STL, succeeded in raising to its present-day heights the public transit corporation of the third largest city in Québec.

No sooner did Pierre Giard join the STL's management ranks than he went all out to ensure that the STL was actively contributing toward promoting and developing sustainable transportation on Laval territory. By orchestrating the implementation of state-of-the-art tools aimed at providing quality service and meeting transit users' mobility and information needs, he successfully improved the quality of the STL's services and transit user satisfaction, with a constant concern for better and better energy efficiency and for reducing the ecological footprint.

Moreover, under his management, the Société de transport de Laval has developed partnerships—together with all its government allies and those in the Laval community—that is making it possible for the STL to ensure stable financing of its investments and service operations, while actively taking part in planning and developing the community.

The STL is also the only public transit corporation in Canada to lower its fares on smog days and give transit users a full refund of their fare when their bus is more than five minutes late—a totally innovative offer that guarantees riders that the buses will keep to their schedules.

As for the STL's rate of reliability and on-time performance, they are reaching records of up to 92%. Moreover, through its concern for eco-energy efficiency, it will soon be evaluating an all-electric bus.

Jean-Jacques Beldié, the STL's Chairman of the Board, wishes to congratulate Pierre Giard, as well as the 864 employees of this public transit corporation: "The Société de transport de Laval is pleased and proud of these two big awards presented to Pierre Giard. They highlight the outstanding accomplishments of this inspiring leader who is making it possible for the STL to rank, today, among the most dynamic and avant-garde public transit corporations."

Pierre Giard held the position of General Manager of the STL from 2005 to 2012.

The STL, facts and figures

• The STL operates over 20 million runs annually.

• The STL has rolled out its STLSynchro system, which informs transit users, in real time, about bus schedules and progress along the routes.

• The overhaul of its bus network, made necessary by the extension of the metro to Laval, has given rise to a 32% increase in service, faster trips, more direct bus routes and a greater frequency of buses outside rush hours, on evenings and weekends along 12 routes.

• The STL has also joined forces with the Association québécoise de lutte contre la pollution atmosphérique, Communauto and the Carpooling Network, to promote sustainable transportation in Laval.

• The fare policy is particularly designed to encourage families to use public transit: All adults paying their fare on weekends and holidays may be accompanied, free of charge, by up to five children age 11 and under. This policy also applies to every day in the summer, July 1 - Labour Day. In addition, the STL's $1 fares on summer smog days are a first in Québec.

• All vehicles on its fleet use biodiesel B5.

• The STL is registered on Twitter and has its own Facebook page, where it announces service notices.

• The STL offers riders the opportunity to register on MySTL in order to receive notices on the bus routes that they usually take.

• Since the roll-out, in 2009, of its vehicle scheduling control system, the STL's on-time performance rates continue to improve and, to date, it has succeeded in achieving rates of over 92%.

• The STL has received a number of awards of distinction, including one from the AQTR in 2010: the Grand Prix for excellence in mass transit, positioning it as an outstanding corporation.

• In 2011, the STL was honoured with the AQTR's general public communication award for its Smog Alert program.

• In 2011, the STL undertook a feasibility study to examine the viability of implementing an aerial tramway (gondola service) on its territory. This study is an additional project over and above the measures in the Sustainable Mobility Plan. The steps being taken in this regard are supported by Ville de Laval, the Agence métropolitaine de transport and Hydro-Québec.

• A new program—STL Sustainable Mobility Solution—was launched in May 2012. This program is designed for organizations concerned with finding ways of more efficiently managing their employees' commuting.

• In May 2012, the STL was honoured with the 2012 Corporate Leadership Award in the Innovation category, for its CLIC carpooling project with electric vehicles.

SOURCE: SOCIETE DE TRANSPORT DE LAVAL

Source: 
Marie-Céline Bourgault
Director, Communications and Marketing
Société de transport de Laval
450 662-5429
[email protected]