55 new articulated buses will be used to launch three express routes
Montreal’s transit authority is spending $51 million to purchase 55 articulated buses so it can launch three new express routes next year.
One new express route will run between Rosemont and downtown Montreal. The aim: entice passengers now using the métro’s Orange Line, which is overcrowded at rush hour.
Another new express line will run along Côte Vertu Blvd. in St-Laurent. The third will be on Côte des Neiges Blvd.
The routes to be taken by the new express lines, as well as their hours of operation, have not been determined yet, said a Société de transport de Montréal spokeswoman, Marianne Rouette.
Express buses are aimed at commuters heading for downtown or to métro or train stations. They are faster than regular buses because they make fewer stops.
The STM currently has 31 express routes.
Articulated buses are 19 metres long, compared with 12 metres for standard buses. The longer buses can carry 115 passengers (47 seated), compared with 75 for a standard bus (31 seated).
The STM’s board of directors approved the bus purchase last week.
Ten of the buses are to be delivered by the end of the year and will be used on current STM lines. The other 45 are due in 2013. They’ll be used for the new routes, as well as to bolster other express lines, the STM said.
The purchase is an extension of an order, placed in 2006, with Nova Bus, the StEustache-based subsidiary of Volvo. In that 2006 order, the STM bought 202 articulated buses. The first entered service in 2009. The rest have all been delivered.
The latest order for 55 ar- ticulated buses will cost $39.6 million, plus $11.2 million in extra options, contingencies and taxes. The articulated buses run on diesel fuel.
In July, the STM ordered 203 new, standard-sized hybrid (diesel/electric) buses from Nova Bus, at a cost of $190.8 million. The STM has said three-quarters of those buses — due to start arriving in 2014 — will be used to increase service. The rest will replace older buses.