Promotion of OPUS at home! pass - Two months of free public transit in Laval!

LAVAL, QC, March 31 /CNW Telbec/ - The Société de transport de Laval (STL) encourages its users to register, without delay, for the OPUS at home! pass.

The program, run by the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), is already enjoying well-earned success, It gives riders a chance to get a monthly transit pass for at least a year. It's simple, practical and, above all, economical!

The AMT is offering an initial discount

The pass is automatically reloaded: No need to line up at the end of the month. And replacement is guaranteed in case of theft, loss or breakage!

Payment is made by credit card or direct debits from the rider's bank current account.

A pass holder who buys 11 consecutive monthly passes receives another one free of charge, as the 12th debit won't be made to the pass holder's account.

This AMT discount is renewed every year as long as the yearly pass is, too.

A 2nd month free, thanks to the STL!

The STL is going a step further by offering a 2nd month free to all holders of a valid monthly pass on the STL's network only: After a transit user has received a pass for 6 months, the 7th debit won't be made to the account of that pass holder, who will then be sent a letter of confirmation to this effect.

This additional discount applies only to the first year of this annual pass.

Here are the two qualifying conditions that must be met:

    
    - Register for an OPUS at home! pass for the first time; and
    - Load the OPUS card with a valid monthly pass on the STL system only.
      This offer applies to all fares: regular, student and reduced.
    

Now that's a dazzling demonstration that public transit really pays off!

The STL, facts and figures

    
    - The STL operates over 20 million runs annually.
    - The overhaul of the bus network, made necessary by the extension of the
      metro to Laval, gave rise to a 28% increase in service, faster trips
      and more direct bus routes.
    - The frequency of buses outside rush hours, on evenings and weekends,
      has doubled on 12 lines since August 2009.
    - The fare policy is particularly designed to encourage families to use
      public transit: All adults paying their fare on weekends and holidays
      may be accompanied, free of charge, by up to five children age 11 and
      under. This policy also applies to every day in the summer, July 1 -
      Labour Day. In addition, the STL's $1 fares on summer smog days are a
      first in Québec.
    - The STL is carrying out a feasibility study for a trolleybus network
      powered by electrical energy.
    - It is financing Éco Mobile à Laval, a major operation by Vélo Québec
      and aimed at promoting alternate solutions to car use.
    - It is also partnering 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, a fuel that comes from
      recycled oil that isn't made of corn.
    - At the beginning of 2010, the STL launched STL Synchro, an
      unprecedented program providing transit user information in real time,
      by means of display units installed at bus stops and inside buses, with
      the same information available via text messaging and the Internet.
    - The STL has its own page on Facebook, where it announces service
      notices, and it is also on Twitter.
    - The STL offers riders the opportunity to register on My STL to receive
      notices on its bus routes that they usually take.
    - Since the roll-out, in 2009, of its vehicle scheduling control system,
      the STL's on-time performance has been on the rise, up to almost 92%,
      thereby prompting the envy of transit users of other transit
      corporations.
    

For further information: Marie-Céline Bourgault, Director, Communications and Marketing, Société de transport de Laval, [phone], [email protected]