STM projects 500 million trips annually

Montreal's public transit corporation is planning to increase its ridership by about 100 million trips to half a billion annually within seven years.

That's a 20 per cent increase, up fromthe400 million trips now made each year on the Socit de transport de Montral(STM) network.

STMchairmanMichel Labrecquesaidthe Strategic Plan for 2020 may seem ambitious, but he said he is confident the agency will meet its goals.

The plans include express bus lanes, advanced signals for buses andnearly doubling the network's reserved bus lanes to 370 kilometres adding 25 new routes to the 29 routesthat currently have exclusive use of lanes on heavily travelled roads during rush hour.

The transit corporation is looking at adding five new reserved lanes in the next year.

Labrecque said there is growing demand for access to public transit, and adding more reserved lanes to keep traffic flowing will help attract new riders.

"Abus with 50 people squeezed in the traffic you're losing. You need mobility. You need fluidity for buses," he said.

The agency saidabout 60 per cent of the funding is already inplace to pay for the major investments, whichincludenew buses and metro cars.