My Alerts Montréal, August 31, 2011 “ In Town Without My Car ! There is no better day, no better week even, to get us to rethink our commuting habits, particularly when such habits are becoming a growing concern,” declared Marvin Rotrand, vice-chairman of the STM board of directors and majority leader of Montréal’s city council.
With increasing traffic congestion, detours, multiple worksites, the time spent in a car to get anywhere is getting longer and longer. According to the STM, part of the solution to this problem rests with using public transit.
“I don’t necessarily want all motorists to leave their car behind all the time. What we are suggesting is that people use public transit for some of their needs, when the opportunity presents itself. In the coming weeks, why not try out the new services the STM has implemented these past few months, either for going to work or going out ?,” asked Mr. Rotrand.
In the last year, several new services were introduced, including:
- A 10-minute MAX network with intervals between buses of less than 10 minutes on over 30 bus lines, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays.
- Morning and afternoon rush hour buses synchronized with commuter train arrivals at these stations:
- the STM has added 84 daily departures weekdays on six West Island bus lines running parallel to Highway 20 (173 - Métrobus Victoria, 190 - Métrobus Lachine, 211 - Bord-du-Lac, 221- Métrobus Lionel-Groulx, 420 - Express N-D-G and 506 - R-Bus Newman).
- Two metro trains were added to the 29 usually needed for rush hour service on the Orange line. Ridership levels on the Yellow line are also closely monitored at all times.
““In the last year, the STM has increased overall service by more than 3%. This fall, with the support of the Québec government, other mitigating measures will be introduced to lessen traffic congestion. This is an excellent opportunity to quickly step in with an alternative solution to car use, particularly for citizens commuting between the West Island and downtown. Indeed, later this fall, the STM will establish reserved lanes along Notre-Dame and St. Patrick streets, which should help improve both reliability and speed for the 173, 190, 191, 211, 221 and 747 bus lines. In spring 2012, the STM will introduce four new express bus lines to serve the sectors impacted by construction sites,” indicated Mr. Rotrand.
Details of the measures introduced by the STM to offset congestion created by construction on the Turcot Interchange are available at http://www.stm.info/info/rentree2011.htm
Lastly, a few statistics to show that, thanks to investments by the Government of Québec and the Agglomeration of Montréal, Société de transport de Montréal (STM) efforts are producing results:
- End of 2010, bus and métro service had increased by 21.6% since 2006 (bus, by 16.2%, and métro by 27.9%);
- During the same period, public transit ridership increased by more than 7%, or an additional 25 million passenger rides.
“On behalf of the STM, named Best Public Transport System in North America by the American Public Transportation Association in 2010, I invite people to make the most of next September 22, but also to try to commute twice a month without their car! With other options for public and active means of transportation, such as walking, cycling, car-sharing, taking the train or taxis, they might discover or even rediscover the joys of getting around town… without their car!,” concluded Mr. Rotrand.
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