Montréal, April 4, 2022 – The Société de transport de Montréal (STM), in collaboration with partners MUVE, the Coop Taxi de l’Ouest and Fraxion, announced today positive results following the trial of MUVE, a mobile application used to book shared taxibus services currently being offered in Senneville and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

“This trial was a resounding success,” says Éric Alan Caldwell, Chair of the STM Board of Directors. “It was made possible by funding from the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation, obtained by MUVE in collaboration with the STM. This outcome represents a promising solution both for STM customers and for sustainable mobility.”

“It was an honour to have the opportunity to organize and execute an innovation project of this magnitude with the STM,” says MUVE cofounder Anthony W. Shannon. “Our goal is to provide world-class software solutions for the mobility of the future. The successful outcome of this project demonstrates that there is a growing interest in innovation within the mobility industry, at the municipal and provincial levels in Quebec, across Canada and in North America. We would like to thank Quebec’s Minister of Economy and Innovation, the Coop Taxi de l’Ouest, Fraxion and all the community partners that made this project possible.”

Compelling results

The trial showed that using a smartphone app to book shared taxibus trips improves the service. A customer survey was conducted and found that 85% of respondents enjoyed the experience, among other positive data:

  • Over 30% of all shared taxibus trips were booked using the app on a recurring basis.
  • 51% of all shared taxibus trips were booked less than 40 minutes before the departure time.
  • 94% of users found it helpful to receive notifications when their taxi was approaching.
  • During the testing period, the MUVE app received roughly 1,700 ratings with an overall score of 4.9 out of 5.

“We are pleased to see that this partnership was an unmitigated success!” concludes Marie-Claude Léonard, Interim CEO of the STM. “The STM is very proud of this innovative trial to promote shared taxibus services in these municipalities. These encouraging results indicate that the vast majority of users would like to see more of this type of solution to help them book shared taxibus services more easily, and we will be evaluating this possibility in the short term.”

Shared taxibus service

The STM offers 14 shared taxibus routes, providing a mode of transportation better suited to neighbourhoods where it is not relevant or possible to implement a regular bus service. The way these services work varies depending on the location, but they always involve reserving trips in advance.

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