Adoption of the 2012 Budget and Fare Schedule

The Chairman of the Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO), Patrice Martin, today announced the adoption of the 2012 budget at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors. This year's budget comes to $112.2 million, for an increase of 12% over 2011. The Board of Directors also ratified the new fare schedule that will become effective on January 1, 2012.

Investments in new services
Besides maintaining the services in 2012 that were added in 2011, the STO will also inject $700,000 in service improvements over the year, for an amount of $1.4 million on an annual basis. These investments correspond to 14,000 more service hours for the public and an additional 300,000 kilometres travelled on the system. The investments translate into upgrades throughout the city with trips added to different bus routes. Over the last five years, the STO has injected more than $7.5 million to meet the constantly growing needs of Outaouais residents.

Increase in the paratransit budget
The STO is injecting more than $500,000 into the paratransit service for a budget of $6.2 million. The STO feels that paratransit ridership will continue to grow in 2012 with an increase of 4%. The STO currently has 4,400 patrons registered to use this specialized service and anticipates 270,000 trips in 2012.

The City and STO are partners
The STO will request an additional $3.7 million from the City of Gatineau in order to fulfil its mission and meet the demand for public transit. The total contribution being requested from the City comes to $45.1 million, representing a 9% increase in the City's share compared with 2011. "We are confident that the City will view our request favourably," stated the STO's Chairman.


"The City of Gatineau has shown a solid commitment to developing the public transit system by providing essential support that has enabled us to continue to effectively intensify our services for the public," he added. “In 2012, the City’s contribution will represent 40% of the STO’s budget. We are proud to state that the City of Gatineau considers public transit to be a key part of sustainable development."

Ridership
In its 2012 budget, the STO anticipates that ridership will grow another 1.5% compared with 2011. The STO expects to complete 20.3 million trips in 2012 on its regular system. "Next year, the STO anticipates an increase in revenue of $8.3 million compared with an increase in expenditures of $12 million," explained Patrice Martin. The City's contribution and passenger revenue will help the STO offset this difference that stems primarily from operating and maintenance costs. “The current growth in ridership that we are seeing, with an average increase of 4% since the beginning of 2011, presents a big challenge for maintaining quality service for our current and new clientele. Having more riders also means more buses, more drivers, more maintenance staff and more fuel. The City’s financial support will enable the STO to improve services and increase rider loyalty while also attracting new patrons,” explained the STO’s chairman.

“This $112.2 budget illustrates the efforts of the City, the STO and riders to make Gatineau a green city when it comes to sustainable mobility,” added Mr. Martin. The STO’s budget will be submitted to the City of Gatineau for approval by November 1, 2011.

2012 Fares
To be able to continue improving its services and meet the constantly growing demand for public transit in the Outaouais effectively, the STO has a duty to raise its fares with an average increase of 3.8%.

Regular monthly passes for adults will cost $3 more per month. The STO’s new fare schedule includes preferential fares for seniors and students, which have also risen but by a lesser amount. Regular monthly passes for students and seniors will go up by $2 and $1, respectively. It will still be more advantageous to purchase annual passes that allow riders to enjoy yearly savings of 10%. “The loyalty programs are popular among our regular riders, who make up a substantial share of our clientele, whether they are enrolled in the Fidélité Program that offers an annual pass purchased by pre-authorized debit payments, or take advantage of special student rates that include four months of public transit for the price of three,” explained the STO’s chairman.

The price of bus tickets and cash fares will also increase by $0.10 and $0.15, respectively. “The popularity of our loyalty programs largely explains the less frequent use of cash for fares,” stated Mr. Martin.

Hybrid buses in the three-year capital projects plan
The STO also submitted the Société's capital projects plan for 2012, 2013 and 2014 totalling $84.7 million in capital expenditures, including $53.6 million in the form of grants.

As part of this plan, the STO will acquire eight hybrid buses in 2013. It will continue to purchase hybrid buses in 2014 as well, with eight more vehicles. The STO will also have 56 articulated buses in its fleet by 2014.

These acquisitions are necessary to support an increase in services for the public and to ensure renewal of the bus fleet. Acquiring articulated buses is also part of the upcoming Rapibus deployment. Besides purchasing new vehicles, the STO will pursue various other projects, such as continuing with the groundwork for the second garage, dynamic signalling at stops (ITS), and the development and expansion of some park-and-ride.

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