Marked increases in ridership, significant increase in the number of hours given to passenger service and the number of kilometres travelled: yesterday, officials of the Association du transport urbain du Québec (ATUQ) unveiled a very positive report about Québec’s first public transit policy for 2006–2011.
STM officials were on hand along with those of other public transit authorities, all ATUQ members, to take part in the announcement, as part of the first day of public transit awareness at the National Assembly in Québec.
Since 2006, the STM has offered 25 percent more service to customers!
Ever since the policy came into effect, the STM has enhanced its offer of transit services to attract new customers and make public transit the alternative of choice over the car.
- From 2006 to 2011, ridership has increased some 11.4 percent, from 363.3 million to 404.8 million passenger rides. The 8 percent target outlined in the Policy has been surpassed.
- With an overall 25 percent increase in service provided by its bus and métro networks, the STM has also surpasssed the government target set at 16 percent:
- The offer of métro service has increased by 29 percent;
- The number of kilometres covered by buses has increased by 21.7 percent, with the number of hours of service rising by 17.4 percent (for a total of nearly 5 million hours in 2011).
In concrete terms, the 2007-2011 service improvement program made it possible to add service on three métro lines and on more than 144 bus lines, introduce 14 new bus lines, six shared taxibus lines and ten Navette Or shuttles, as well as launch a hard-hitting campaign to promote public transportation in Montréal.
Québec prepares new policy for sustainable mobility to support growth
"Québec’s Public Transit Policy for 2006-2011 was beneficial and produced results. In order to maintain our efforts and support our growth, the STM must be able to count on dedicated, indexed, recurring and adequate sources of funding. Public transportation is part of the solution in the fight against climate change. Case in point, the 11.4 percent increase in ridership since 2007 has enabled us to prevent the emission of 64 000 tons of greenhouse gases, equal to the emissions of some 11 200 cars,” indicated Marvin Rotrand, STM board vice-chairman.
