STM wins American Public Transportation Association award
as Outstanding Public Transportation System in North America
Montréal, October 5, 2010 – As part of the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), held in San Antonio, Texas, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) received an award as Outstanding Public Transportation System in North America, for the excellent results it achieved between 2007 and 2009 in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. “This is a great honour, as it was given by our peers who acknowledged our excellent results. These were achieved thanks to the support of Ville de Montréal, the agglomeration, and the Government of Québec, as part of the Service improvement programme. There is no denying that the efforts we put into improving transit services and increasing ridership since 2007 have produced impressive results and that we must continue with our work,” explained Michel Labrecque, Chairman of the STM Board of Directors. “I am very proud of this award. It’s as if the STM had just won the Stanley Cup in its field. My pride is shared with all the employees who did a fantastic job and who spare no effort, every day, to provide our clients with quality services,” declared Yves Devin, STM Director General. The STM registered 382.8 million linked rides in 2009, some 19.5 million more than in 2006, a 5.4% growth rate. Its paratransit service for the disabled provided more than 2.4 million rides in 2009, a 16% increase over 2006. The overall satisfaction level of transit users also rose from 84% in 2006 to 86% in 2009. To achieve such results, the STM undertook a number of initiatives and increased its offer of service by 18.5% over 2006 levels. With over 1500 member organizations from the public and private sectors, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a non-profit, international association engaged in the areas of bus, light rail, commuter train, subways, waterborne passenger services, and high-speed rail. Over 90% of Canadian and American public transit users are served by APTA member organizations. Its awards are give to public transit bodies and persons who have shown leadership and helped to advance public transportation in North America. Such awards had not be given to a Canadian public transit company since 1995. It should be noted that APTA’s President, Mr. William Millar, will visit Montréal on October 27 to meet with members of the Board of Directors, STM officials and local media representatives.
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From left to right : Carl Desrosiers, Executive Director of Operations for STM; Bernard Blanchet , STM Board of Directors Member and Lachine Borough Councillor and Richard J. Simonetta, vice president, national director of high speed rail and special projects, URS Corporation, Columbus, Ohio – 30 –