The STM announces the extension of bus routes 12 and 168 on l'Île-des-Soeurs effective August 27, 2007

 

The STM announces the extension of bus routes 12 and 168
on l'Île-des-Soeurs effective August 27, 2007

Montreal, August 27, 2007 - The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) announces the extension of bus routes 12 and 168 on Île-des-Sœurs effective August 27.

The routes will extend from the intersection of Gasp� Street and Île des Sœurs Boulevard, to the traffic circle on Pointe Sud Road. The frequency of service will be the same as before, except for weekend service on route 12, when the frequency will increase from every 30 minutes to every 20 minutes. In all, the STM will extend each of these routes by 900 m, or 1.8 km per return trip.

“This initiative is another fine example of our intention to develop and improve the service we provide to customers,” declared Mr. Claude Trudel, Chairman of the Board of the STM and Mayor of the Borough of Verdun. “This extension is also in line with the recent boom in residential development in the Pointe Sud area.”

The STM has observed a marked increase in ridership, amounting to around 1,500 rides per day, as a result of new housing developments. Given the additional developments planned between now and 2010, the STM anticipates a further increase in ridership of about the same magnitude.

Positive outcome of the addition of Sunday service on route 12

The introduction of Sunday service on route 12, which started last January, has been a resounding success. In fact, average ridership is approximately 350 trips, whereas the STM had predicted an average ridership of 300 trips. A recent customer survey revealed that 19% of those surveyed used their car or a taxi prior to January 2007. Moreover, the new service earned an overall satisfaction rate of 93%, in particular thanks to the 22 minutes that are saved compared to using route 168 on Sundays.

“This additional service constitutes a considerable improvement for residents and workers in the Borough of Verdun, in terms of both the speed of travel and improved access to Île-des-Sœurs from Verdun”, Mr. Trudel pointed out.

The change in service on this bus route entails an extra 473 hours of service in 2007 and requires an additional vehicle to provide service on Sundays.

STM customers are invited to pick up new bus schedules to plan their travel. These are available on board the buses until August 31, 2007 and at any time, in PDF format, on the STM’s Web site (www.stm.info). Customers can print out as many copies as they wish. The bus stop codes shown in the schedules may be found there, and the full list is also available. These five-digit codes are indicated on the bus stop signs, enabling users to find out when the next bus will stop there by dialing A-U-T-O-B-U-S (514 288-6287). For any other information, including travel planning on the Island of Montréal, customers are invited to dial
STM-INFO (514 786-4636).

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