My Alerts Montréal, March 23, 2012 – Messrs. Pierre Moreau, Québec Transport Minister (MTQ), Gérald Tremblay, mayor of Montréal, and Michel Labrecque, Chairman of the Société de transport de Montréal Board of Directors, in the presence of Mr. Michel Bissonnet, executive committee member responsible for transportation for the city of Montréal, announced today the implementation of a series of measures to alleviate congestion in 2012 on the West Island, in the wake of the Turcot Interchange reconstruction.
“ I am very pleased to be part of today’s conference to announce key measures initiated by the STM. These actions will be included to many others and their combined efforts will greatly contribute in improving traffic conditions and mobility throughout the city, especially when we consider the extensive number of roadwork sites within its territory, ” declared Mr. Moreau, Québec Transport Minister.
“ In view of the magnitude of the Turcot Interchange construction project and construction sites to come, our challenge is to ensure workforce mobility towards the downtown core and collaborate with our partners to alleviate the impact of traffic congestion as much as possible. Therefore, I welcome with enthusiasm these new measures set to improve traffic conditions that will make travel from the West Island easier and contribute to change transportation behaviours of Montrealers ,” stated Mr. Michel Bissonnet, Executive committee member responsible for transportation for the City of Montréal.
“ With this vast construction site in the works, the STM will introduce four new Express bus lines, new Park and Ride lots as well as new reserved bus lanes. The objective remains the same: encourage our customers to use public transit as often as possible and offer motorists who travel alone a better alternative. At present, the STM already handles more than 40,000 trips daily with 16 métro-bound bus lines, ” declared the STM Board of Directors Chairman, Mr. Labrecque. “These new Express bus lines will allow customers to gain on the average more than 10 minutes time over normal travel time along Highway 20. These gains will be enhanced with the introduction of new reserved lanes. Our customers will therefore benefit from dependable travel times unlike motorists who face congested road conditions around the Turcot Interchange work site.”
Four new Express bus lines
Effective April 2, four new bus lines will provide a direct link between West Island neighbourhoods and the métro network from Monday to Friday. On the one hand, bus lines 405 – Express Bord-du-Lac, 425 – Express Anse-à-l’Orme and 485 – Express Antoine-Faucon will head towards Lionel-Groulx métro station, while bus line 475 – Express Dollard-des-Ormeaux will provide a link between the new Dollard-des-Ormeaux Park and Ride lot of 200 spaces and Côte-Vertu métro station. The STM is considering opening other parking locations close to the Fairview terminus and in Pierrefonds by next fall.
The 405 line will travel in both directions every 20 minutes to MacDonald Campus between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Bus line 425 will provide Kirkland residents with non-stop service to the métro with varying intervals ranging from 20 to 30 minutes between 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the eastbound direction, and from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. for westbound service. Local 405 – Bord-du-Lac customers will be able to choose between two lines either the Express line or the local 211 bus line. The 485 bus line will provide Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Pointe-Claire residents with a new direct link to Lionel-Groulx métro station with service intervals of 20 to 30 minutes between 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in both directions. Service will however be supplemented to 10 minute intervals between Fairview terminus and the métro station between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the eastbound direction, and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the westbound direction. Finally, the 475 bus line will offer a departure every 15 minutes towards Côte-Vertu métro station during morning and afternoon rush hours, between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. for eastbound service, and between 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the westbound direction.
Results of 2011 bus service improvement measures
From June to December 2011, commuters of six rapid bus lines using the reserved lane along Highway 20, namely the 173 –Métrobus Victoria, 190 – Métrobus Lachine, 211 – Bord-du-Lac, 221 – Métrobus Lionel-Groulx, 420 – Express N-D-G and 506 – R-Bus Newman did benefit from increased and more efficient service. Indeed, the STM added some 84 trips, for an increase of 10 to 20% in Express and Métrobus services encompassing the 173 and 190 bus lines from Lachine, the 211 and 221 from the West, the 506 from LaSalle, and the 420 bus line from Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Depending on the bus line, this initiative accounted for a 10 to 15% increase in ridership. Furthermore, the 11.4 km span of reserved lanes along Notre-Dame and Saint-Patrick implemented in the fall contributed to maintaining on-time service on bus lines 173, 190, 191, 211, 221 and 747.
Implementation of new reserved lanes as measures to alleviate traffic congestion
During the year, the STM will implement reserved lanes along Saint-Jean and Pierrefonds Boulevards as well as on Highway 20 in order to improve weekday bus service in the area. The STM is working diligently alongside its partners, namely Transports Québec, concerned towns and boroughs, to complete the necessary steps towards the implementation of reserved lanes. These new Express lines and other bus lines will be able to benefit from a priority advantage in order to avoid traffic jams.
Spanning 6 km in length, the reserved public transit lane accessible to taxis and carpoolers (2 persons or more) deployed along Saint-Jean Boulevard will extend from Pierrefonds Boulevard to Highway 40 in the southbound direction in the morning, and, conversely, in the northbound direction in the afternoon. Bus lines 201,205,470 and 485 service this area. As well, the reserved public transit lane available to taxis extends 1.6 km along Pierrefonds Boulevard from Jacques-Bizard to Saint-Jean Boulevard and services bus lines 68, 407, 468, 470 in the morning in the eastbound direction. As for the reserved public transit lane on Highway 20 deployed over 2.6 km between 55th and 1st Avenue, it will offer eastbound service 24/7 for bus lines 211, 421, 405, 425, 485 and 747.
Last fall, the STM implemented 11.6 km of reserved lane running eastbound along Highway 20 on Notre-Dame and westbound on Saint-Patrick. This corridor presents an efficient alternate route in the case of traffic congestion and allows for more dependable travel times to the benefit of the 405, 425 and 485 bus lines. As for the 475 bus line, it will travel along the reserved lane on Côte-Vertu Road.
New bus terminus at Lionel-Groulx métro station
Next fall, the STM will have completed renovations of the bus terminus surrounding Lionel-Groulx métro station to increase its bus capacity and accommodate the arrival of new 405, 425 and 485 bus lines along with additional vehicles linked to customer service. These changes will also provide customers with a more user-friendly commuting experience. Indeed, this new terminus will also improve customer transfers between buses and the métro as of next fall.
“ Incentives to encourage public transit will certainly contribute in reducing traffic congestion in construction zones. Indeed, 60% of motorists who travel through the Turcot Interchange heading to downtown or surrounding areas originate from neighbourhoods located west of Highway 13. These measures will benefit the population residing in the western portion of the island of Montréal by providing more effective services towards downtown and central areas, ” concluded Mr. Labrecque. “ Finally, the restructuring of the Express network completes the overhaul of our public transit bus services. With a network now consisting of 218 lines covering the entire territory of the island of Montréal, the five service families include the following bus line networks: 10 minute Max, All-night, Local, Shuttle for specific customer groups, and the Express network. ”.
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