Founded | 1971 |
---|---|
Headquarters | 111 Rue Jean-Proulx |
Locale | Gatineau, Quebec |
Service area | Gatineau and Ottawa |
Service type | Bus service, paratransit |
Routes | 66 |
Stations | 11 |
Fleet | 302 buses |
Annual ridership | 19.4 million (2010) |
Chief executive | Gilles Carpentier |
Website | sto.ca |
Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) is the transit service of the Outaouais region of Quebec. It operates public transit routes 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 Transcollines 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.
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 Outaouais Regional Community Transportation Commission (CTCRO) 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 (STO)
In 1998, the STO was named the "Canadian public transit operator of the year" by the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA). From 1999 to 2001, to satisfy growing demand, the STO purchased additional newer 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.