STO Improvements Coming This Fall - $1 Million Investment in New Services

The Board of Directors of the Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) today approved a number of improvements to be made to several bus routes starting August 27, 2012. The new services represent an annual investment of over $1 million.

This fall, the STO will invest $335,546, representing an annual amount of $1,006,639, to add new services in different city sectors. “These investments in new services result from observations of the system, comments from patrons and analyses of requirements. They make it possible to add more trips to certain routes that experience a significant increase in passengers at certain times of the day,” stated STO Chairman Patrice Martin.

In the Aylmer sector, one trip will be added to both routes 40 and 52, and route 50 will be changed slightly to improve service reliability and regularity. Route 53 will be extended to the Allumettières terminus in order to serve the new residential developments north of Allumettières. To meet a constantly growing demand for public transit in this sector, two evening trips will be added to route 59, and several of the route’s late morning trips will start at the Hippodrome incentive parking facilities.

In the Hull sector, trips will be added to routes 24 and 29. More service will also be provided with the creation of route 32 along Carrière between Montclair and St-Joseph. In the Gatineau sector, all route 33 trips ending at the Freeman Park-and-Ride will be extended to Les Promenades on Saturdays and Sundays.

To better serve residents in Buckingham and Masson-Angers on weekends, several trips will be added to route 96 heading to Buckingham and Les Promenades terminus. Route 98 will also get another trip during the morning rush hour.

“These changes will offer services that respond better to the needs of STO riders, especially as the demand continues to grow during off-peak hours. The proposed changes will also improve the distribution of the number of passengers per bus, thereby offering optimal travel conditions for riders,” added the chairman.

Together, these improvements represent an additional 12,824 hours of service annually. The improvements to the system will require hiring nine new bus drivers and one maintenance employee. Three new buses will also be required. These revisions are part of the STO's public transit service improvement plan. Under Transport Quebec’s government assistance program for improvements to public transit, 50% of the expenditures for new services are eligible for a subsidy.

The STO is also proud to announce enhancements to the Family fare and ZAP pass for the summer. Adolescents will be able to use their ZAP pass throughout July and August. In addition, the Family fare will be available from Monday to Friday during the summer months, as well as on weekends and statutory holidays.

The details of the new services to take effect this fall are available on the STO’s Web site in the Services section, and will be printed in the annual edition of the User’s Guide to be published in August 2012.

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