Faster, more competitive bus service with the new 467 Express Saint-Michel and the implementation of bus priority measures

Press release


 

Faster, more competitive bus service with the new 467 Express Saint-Michel and the implementation of bus priority measures

Montréal, March 19, 2009 Michel Labrecque, Chairman of the STM Board of Directors and city councillor for the Mile-End district of Plateau Mont-Royal Borough, and André Lavallée, Mayor of Rosemont – La Petite-Patrie Borough, vice-chairman of Ville de Montréal’s Executive Committee and responsible for the city’s transportation and urban planning, architectural heritage and design, today announced the creation of a new bus route, the 467 Express Saint-Michel, and the implementation of bus priority measures for the island of Montréal.

The wide-ranging project is part of a series of initiatives designed to improve the comfort and speed of bus travel along major public transit corridors, by gradually combining limited-stop bus routes, reserved lanes, and bus priority measures at traffic lights with other measures in highly congested locations. Together, along with the new express bus route, these will reduce travel times significantly, by some 15 to 30%.

STEP ONE: MARCH 30, 2009

Creation of the 467 Express Saint-Michel
Next March 30, the STM will introduce the 467 Express Saint-Michel into service, a new route with a limited number of stops that will follow the same itinerary as the 67 – Saint-Michel. Running weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., the new bus service will feature only 15 stops between Joliette métro station and the intersection of boulevard Saint-Michel and boulevard Henri-Bourassa. From day one, the service will cut down travel time by about 10%, compared to current ones for the 67 bus, the network’s busiest route with some 43 000 riders per average weekday.

“The introduction of this express route, paired with the 67 bus service, will enable us to offer some 126 additional departures each day, which means a 50% increase in service while the 467 is in operation,” explained Mr. Labrecque. “This significant measure is the latest in our service improvement programme, which Transports Québec and Ville de Montréal both finance equally.”

STEP TWO: IN SUMMER 2009    

Implementation of a reserved lane on Saint-Michel and bus priority measures Boulevard Saint-Michel will have a curb-side reserved lane between boulevard Henri-Bourassa and rue Rachel, during rush hour periods, as early as summer 2009. The gradual addition of articulated buses on this route by the end of 2009 will also contribute to improving passenger comfort. Finally, the priority traffic light system with bus detection in real-time will be operational in January 2010. The system will detect buses at a given intersection, giving them the advantage through one of three priority measures, such as:

  • Activating a vertical white rectangle, called candles, at the traffic light (priority departure signal) giving buses a head start over waiting cars;
  • Extending the duration of the green light at the stop after boarding passengers, allowing the bus to go through and avoid a red light;
  • Extending the duration of the green light as the bus approaches, when there is no bus stop, so that it does not have to stop at the intersection for a red light.

OTHER CORRIDORS TARGETED FOR BUS PRIORITY MEASURES

“As a result of the close cooperation between Ville de Montréal and the STM, two of the city’s busiest traffic corridors, rue Beaubien and rue Rosemont, will also feature bus priority measures as early as this year, ” declared Mr. Lavallée.

Indeed, traffic lights on both Beaubien and Rosemont will be equipped with these candles in April 2009, giving priority to buses. These measures mean that with each traffic light cycle, the candle will allow buses to cross an intersection ahead of cars, making it easier for them to re-enter the traffic lane. During summer 2009, stretches of reserved lane will solve certain traffic problems impacting bus travel along these corridors.

“For public transportation to be more attractive, passengers must be able to travel efficiently and comfortably by bus and by métro. Only then can we compete with cars,” declared André Lavallée. “In accordance with the Transportation Plan, Ville de Montréal and the STM will begin the installation of bus priority measures, adding more than 240 km of bus priority corridors over the next ten years. To that end, the STM is sparing no effort to ensure the priority network becomes operational as quickly as possible, in addition to expanding it to 350 km by 2014.”

Thanks to investments by Transports Québec, who fully finances these measures, the STM can offer more service to clients and increase the efficiency of its network,” added Mr. Labrecque. “Once these initiatives are all implemented, the STM anticipates a 10% increase in the number of trips along boulevard Saint-Michel, which falls in line with the increased ridership goal outlined in Québec’s Public Transit Policy.”

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