With the Société de transport de Laval each trip boasts measurable ecological
assets

LAVAL, QC, April 15 /CNW Telbec/ - NaviGo, the trip calculator that the Société de transport de Laval (STL) provides the public on its website, is adding a new feature that makes it totally unique!

From now on, NaviGo informs transit users of the amount of CO2 that they won't be discharging into the atmosphere by opting for public transit to go to-and return from-a given location, in contrast to the same trip in a single-occupancy vehicle.

This customized information on reducing the carbon footprint is marked under the animated map of the calculator.

As it may be recalled, NaviGo offers a choice of routes from points of departure and arrival indicated by Internet users. All details are provided: how long the trip will take, what bus or metro lines to use, the directions to follow, the stops where to get off and even the distance to go by foot, if need be!

Firmly committed to promoting sustainable development, the STL, in so doing, wants to increase the public's awareness of concrete ways and means of preventing needless greenhouse gas emissions.

    
    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%,
      and that's why public transit users in the rest of Québec envy those in
      Laval!
    

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