The STL - 2012 recipient of CUTA's prestigious Corporate Leadership Award

LAVAL, QC, June 1, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - At the annual conference of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), held this year in Victoria on Tuesday, May 29, the Société de transport de Laval is proud to have been presented with the 2012 Corporate Leadership Award in the Innovation category, for its CLIC carpooling project with electric vehicles.

Among the most prestigious competitions in all of Canada, this program of awards presented by CUTA aims at honouring excellence in Canada's public transit industry and increasing businesses' exposure and prestige, by highlighting the major advances and initiatives of transit systems and business members.

The Corporate Leadership Award in the Innovation category recognizes businesses for public transit innovations that break with conventional processes and extend beyond marginal improvements in products and services.

The STL is particularly pleased to receive this significant recognition for its CLIC carpooling project with electric vehicles. Guy Picard, General Manager of the STL, expressed how very proud he is of such success: "For the past many years, the STL has been demonstrating outstanding leadership and vitality in several respects. Our CLIC carpooling project with electric vehicles is an innovative and unique way of designing public transit and is a new "zero-emission" transportation alternative. The achievements of the CLIC team are truly remarkable. This award is paying tribute to our efforts and is motivating us to continue innovating."

As it may be recalled, the principle of the CLIC project is a simple one: electric cars are loaned to ten 4-member teams living in Laval and commuting at the same times of day to the same train station or to two of the three metro stations in Laval. For the price of an AMT Zone 3 TRAM pass, these people benefit, in particular, from both transportation advantages and a preferred parking space.

The project is jointly managed by the STL and the AMT, with the financial and technical assistance of Hydro-Québec and Chevrolet. By eventually making it possible to annually reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 160 metric tonnes, this CLIC project eloquently demonstrates that flexible, integrated services can be implemented, while taking concrete, environmentally-friendly action.

All Laval residents benefit from CLIC, whether they are STL transit users or not. A few places are still available in order to complete the carpooling teams. Full details may be found at www.stl.laval.qc.ca. 

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, gave 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.
• 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.
• All vehicles on its fleet use biodiesel B5.
• The STL is registered on Twitter and has its own page on Facebook, where it announces service notices.
• The STL offers riders the opportunity to register on My STL 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.
• 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.

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