By Robert Frank
www.thesuburban.com
Laval’s transit authority is pleased that so many commuters took advantage of the bicycle racks that it installed on all 260 of its buses this year.
“We didn’t know how many people would respond to the new CycloBus service, but it was used more than 1,300 times this summer,” Société de transports de Laval (STL) spokeswoman Marie-Céline Bourgault told The Suburban in an interview.
“We expect that, in the years to come, more and more users will take advantage of the bike racks,” she predicted.
“The entire fleet was equipped by the end of June this year, following as successful pilot program that we ran in 2012, which proved that the demand was out there for the service,” Bourgault explained.
She said that no complaints or incidents arose this year in connection with the CycloBus service.
The service ended for the season on Oct. 31, and the bicycle racks are now being removed by STL maintenance workers. They will be reinstalled in late spring 2014, when CycloBus service is slated to recommence.
“Putting bike racks on our buses is consistent with STL’s goal of helping to improve Laval residents’ mobility and to reduce automobile use through alternative means of transport,” transit authority CEO Guy Picard said in a statement. “I’m truly proud of the success that we achieved in our first year of service.”
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