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Courrier Laval Bilingual Edition

There's frenzy at the STL: the coming of the Metro is the biggest challenge in the transit corporation's history

par Nathalie Villeneuve
Voir tous les articles de Nathalie Villeneuve
Article mis en ligne le 29 avril 2007 à 10:00
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The shuttles of the des Laurentides routes. The quick response of the STL the day following the collapse of the Concorde overpass: a trial run for the coming of the metro. - (Photo: Courrier Laval archives)

It's make or break time. That's what they're telling themselves at the STL, as the transit corporation prepares to put its new transit plan to the test to coincide with the opening of the Laval Metro. The first few days of the changes will be decisive, especially for those who would like to try public transit for the first time.

"No doubt, we could get quite a turnout," admits Pierre Lavigueur, the STL's director of planning and development. "On days 1,2,3, and 4 if people who have left their cars at home are left to languish at bus stops, they'll go back to (using) their cars very quickly."

To meet the challenge of a positive reaction that would bring more people to the public transit system, the STL has put on call a reserve of an additional 5%-6% supply of human resources and vehicles.

From one day to the next

STL employees have been working since January on familiarizing themselves with the new configurations of public transit in Laval. But while on the Montreal side the STM had several weeks to break in and test the new systems, the STL will have to plunge from one day to the next into the new reality of providing transit services to a city now having a subway at its disposal. "We can't miss the boat," says Pierre Lavigueur.

The overpass: a test

"Other than the creation of the STL, in 1971, this is our biggest challenge. We should be nervous," says the STL spokesperson. "However, the STL has already met the challenge of a ridership in full expansion," he notes. "In the past six years we've had increases of 3.2% and 3.3%: we're starting to become specialists in the management of a growing clientele."

The collapse of the Concorde overpass last fall was another opportunity for the transit corporation to test its flexibility. In very short order, the STL had to respond to a critical situation that necessitated immediate measures that would prevail for several weeks. The shuttle service traveling along des Laurentides Blvd. was a huge success and an example of the STL's capacity to cope with emergencies. "It showed that we can adjust very quickly," concludes Pierre Lavigueur.

"If people who have left their cars at home are left to languish at bus stops, they'll go back to (using) their cars very quickly."

- Pierre Lavigueur, STL

Photo: metro frenesie

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