Three grants from the Québec government - The STL is improving its service again!

LAVAL, QC, July 31, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Société de transport de Laval (STL) will be benefiting from three Québec government grants, totalling over $2 million.

Alain Paquet, Minister responsible for the Laval region and Minister for Finance, made this announcement today at a press conference, on behalf of Transport Minister Pierre Moreau.

With this financial assistance, the STL will be able to equip all its buses with bicycle racks by next spring. Installed on the front of the vehicles, each bike rack will be able to carry two bicycles. Transit users on Route 60 will be benefiting from these racks this year. This initiative is in keeping with the will of the STL and Ville de Laval to promote active transportation and mass transit on their territory.

In addition, the STL will be purchasing and rolling out two computerized management systems to replace obsolete software packages that have reached their maximum useful life.

The first one—a dispatching software—will help increase productivity and better allocate resources—and occasional drivers, in particular.

The second one—a bus maintenance planning software—will facilitate maintenance, and in particular in order to increase bus availability, consolidate bus reliability and control bus operating costs.

Once implemented, these measures will substantially optimize financial and material resources as well as help cut down on operating costs by $250,00 annually.

In the past five years, the Québec government has injected over $15 million to support the STL's technological conversions.

Of all the subsidized projects, the best known is unquestionably STL Synchro, a vast program for displaying information in real time on buses, at bus stops, on mobile telephones, on the Internet and at interactive terminals.

The Chronobus system, the new collection boxes and passenger counters are also among the list of innovations that the Ministère des Transport has financially supported.

"Since the opening of the three metro stations in April 2007, we have expanded our services by 33%," mentioned STL President Jean-Jacques Beldié as a reminder. If we have achieved such good results and rank among Canada's leaders from now on, it is thanks to the contribution of the Québec government, which recognizes the need to significantly invest in modernizing mass transit."

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.

Image with caption: "Jean-Jacques Beldié, Chairman of the STL's Board of Directors; Guy Ouellette, MNA for Chomedey and parliamentary assistant to the Minister for Transport; Alain Paquet, Minister responsible for the Laval region, Minister for Finance and MNA for Laval-des-Rapides; Gilles Vaillancourt, Mayor of Laval; and Guy Picard, STL General Manager (CNW Group/SOCIETE DE TRANSPORT DE LAVAL)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120731_C4008_PHOTO_EN_16554.jpg

Image with caption: "STL bus equipped with a bicycle rack (CNW Group/SOCIETE DE TRANSPORT DE LAVAL)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120731_C4008_PHOTO_EN_16555.jpg

SOURCE: SOCIETE DE TRANSPORT DE LAVAL

For further information:

Marie-Céline Bourgault
Directrice, Communications et marketing
Société de transport de Laval
450 662-5429
[e-mail]