Société de transport de l'Outaouais
Société de transport de l'Outaouais is the transit service of the Outaouais region of Quebec. It operates conventional services and the Rapibus, a bus rapid transit service, in Gatineau, Quebec, including the districts of Hull, Aylmer, Gatineau, Buckingham and Masson-Angers. STO provided limited service to Chelsea and Cantley until June 2015 when began operations in the Collines de l'Outaouais MRC. STO is located on the Quebec-side of Canada's National Capital Region, and operates several bus routes through Downtown Ottawa, Ontario.
History
Prior to 1971, public transportation in Gatineau was operated by private sector companies. In 1971, these companies had a total of 42 buses and 2.5 million clients. This same year, the Commission de transport de la communauté régionale de l'Outaouais was created to improve regional transportation services that would otherwise exceed the means of the constituent cities.In 1972, for $6.25 million, CTCRO purchased 8 private transit companies in the region: Transport urbain de Hull, Transport Hull métropolitain, Transport d'écoliers du nord de l'Outaouais. A year later, the CTCRO created an agreement with OC Transpo to make transfers between the two services easier.
It purchased only air-conditioned buses from its first one, 1990. In 1991, it changed its name to Société de transport de l'Outaouais
In 1998, the STO was named the "Canadian public transit operator of the year" by the Canadian Urban Transit Association. From 1999 to 2001, to satisfy growing demand, the STO purchased additional second-hand buses from the Société de transport de Montréal, Société de transport de Laval, Société de transport de Sherbrooke and OC Transpo. They all have since been retired.
The STO introduced its first fleet of low-floor buses from NovaBus in 2002, and it has only such buses since then. The following year, the STO announced plans to build a bus-only roadway called the Rapibus. The project was initially expected to be completed by 2009, but it was finally opened in 2013.
In 2005, the STO announced a strategic plan for 2002-2015 in which it projected a ridership of 96 million by 2019 up from 2.4 million in 1992. Ridership from 1995 to 2006 had grown about 50%. In addition to the Rapibus, the STO planned to increase the number of park and ride facilities across the city as well as introduce bike racks, expand or add garages, and expand the fleet.
In 2012, it introduced its fleet of Novabus LFS articulated buses and the following year, it unveiled their new visual identity – L'avenir en commun as well as a new logo.
In 2013, STO launched a new bus rapid transit system called Rapibus, which includes a dedicated 12-kilometre corridor that runs from Labrosse Boulevard to Alexandre-Taché Boulevard.
In 2020, the last Classic bus retired, marking an end to the iconic bus model of the STO which span for more than four decades.
Operations
According to its 2014 annual report, STO employed a total of 780 employees, of which 479 were drivers. It also has a total of 345 buses, 70 routes and 284 shelters. Its ridership in 2014 was approx. 19.8 million, a slight decrease from previous years. Similar to other cities, it also paratransit service as well as Park-n-Ride service.Fleet
Since 2002, Novabus LFS's have been purchased annually to replace older vehicles and to expand the fleet over time. All generations have been purchased except the first generation as OC Transpo have found its first generation Novabus LFS's to be unreliable.| Model | Years | Fleet # | Length | Fuel Type |
| LFS 2nd generation | 2002-2009 | 0201-0209 0301-0328 0401-0417 0501-0517 0601-0617 0701-0716 0801-0819 0901-0910 | 40ft Standard | Diesel |
| LFS 3rd generation | 2009-2013 | 0911-0925 1001-1027 1101-1107 1201-1233 1301-1321 | 40ft Standard 60ft Articulated | Diesel |
| LFS 4th generation | 2014-present | 1401-1414 1501-1507 1601-1616 1701-1730 1801-1827 1901-1909 2001-2043 | 40ft Standard 60ft Articulated | Diesel Diesel-Electric "Hybrid" |
Accessibility
The STO planned to convert half of its total bus fleet into low-floor, LFS model NovaBus by 2012,. Unfortunately, the more recent models had a decreased seating capacity. Another issue that was discovered with this model were the unreliable telescopic ramps that prevented wheelchair access to the bus. As of 1988, the fleet had wheelchair accessible buses. These were of the 1995 first-generation LFS's, which have the more reusable flick-out rooms. Aside from these planes, wheelchair users rely on the paratransit service.Technology
A number of significant technology improvements and studies have been made over the past few decades by the STO. In 1998, The company introduced a smart-card fare system, making it the first company not only in the Americas but the entire Western Hemisphere to have a smart-card system. Paper card bus passes were gradually phased out until its official end in 2004 when smart cards became the exclusive bus pass.In 2006–07, fishbowl buses had their rollsigns replaced with LED signs. In 2002 and again in 2007, the STO tested new hybrid buses for feasibility. During the summer of 2008, the STO has started a test trial of a prototype New Flyer articulated bus on several of its routes. The bus has 58 seats and a total capacity of 115 passengers.
In 2014, STO added wi-fi to several of its lines, including all buses and stations associated with rapibus. In 2015, STO announced plans to introduce the bus planning App called Plani-Bus
Future Growth
After the opening of OC Transpo's Line 1 Confederation. The Slater and Albert Streets became vacant of OC Transpo buses as the Transitway has been replaced by the LRT. Allowing for the STO to move buses off Wellington and Rideau Streets onto Albert and Slater on a future date.STO is deciding on future transit needs will be mixed rapid transit or light rail only. The plan is unclear how STO rail line will connect with OCTranspo's light O-Train rail line.