Ridership Up At the STL Since Early 2011

CNW Telbec/ - Jean-Jacques Beldié, Chairman of the Board of the Société de transport de Laval (STL), is very pleased to note that since last February, ridership has been up, peaking at nearly 5% in June.

This increase in ridership may be explained by various factors, no doubt including the price of fuel, which has significantly risen at the pumps since this past spring. In addition, a number of measures aimed at improving the supply of public transit have contributed toward this upturn.
Since February, a gradual upward trend in ridership has been suggesting that such growth will continue. In February, the increase reached almost 1%, and then climbed to 2.1%, 3%, 3.4% and 4.6%, as noted for the months of March, April, May and June.
The STL is doing its utmost to create incentive measures as a magnet for drawing more riders to its transit system. In addition to attractive fare programs, including the Smog Alert fare, the Family Policy fare, the Reduced fare and the Student fare, the STL is constantly providing riders with tools designed to make it easier for them to plan their transit trips.
"We're always paying more and more attention to the wants and needs of our transit users. We understand their expectations as well as those of our potential riders and we are striving to implement services providing efficient transportation for transit users all over Laval," pointed out STL Chairman Jean-Jacques Beldié.
As it may be recalled, substantial upswings in ridership were seen from May 2008 to March 2009, reaching 6% increase targets. Given the fact that economic factors have a big impact on ridership, it may be concluded that upward or downward fluctuations in economic marketplace activity have a direct influence on the STL's ridership.

The STL, facts and figures
• The STL operates over 20 million runs annually.
• The STL has rolled out its STLSynchro system, which informs transit users, in real time, about bus schedules and progress along the routes.
• The overhaul of its bus network, made necessary by the extension of the metro to Laval, gave rise to a 32% increase in service, faster trips, more direct bus routes and a greater frequency of buses outside rush hours, on evenings and weekends.
• The STL has also joined forces with the Association québécoise de lutte contre la pollution atmosphérique, Communauto and the Carpooling Network, to promote sustainable transportation in Laval.
• All vehicles on its fleet use biodiesel B5.
• The STL is registered on Twitter and has its own page on Facebook, where it announces service notices.
• The STL offers riders the opportunity to register on MySTL in order to receive notices on the bus routes that they usually take.
• Since the roll-out, in 2009, of its vehicle scheduling control system, the STL's on-time performance rates continue to improve, and to date, has succeeded in achieving rates of over 92%.
• The STL has received a number of awards of distinction, including one from the AQTR: the Grand Prix for excellence in mass transit, positioning it as an outstanding corporation.
In 2011, the STL was honoured with the AQTR's general public communication award for its Smog Alert program.