At the Annual Conference of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) held on October 6, 2021, Charles Fleurent, GIRO’s Senior Director – Optimization Algorithms, was presented with the CUTA Individual Leadership Award for Excellence. CUTA’s Individual Leadership Awards recognize the hard work, dedication and innovation of public transit employees and industry supporters. The award in the Excellence category recognizes major individual contributions to the betterment of public transport.

Throughout his career at GIRO, Charles Fleurent has built highly valued relationships with the academic community to get the most out of research that can make mass transit more efficient and attractive. Whether it is in optimizing transit networks or resources, he is a firm believer that science has a role to play in the advancement of public transport. His own research has contributed greatly to developing GIRO’s leading-edge expertise in optimization. From theory to practice, and from scientific research to real-world transit operations, the HASTUS integrated software solution improves efficiency by adapting to the specific reality of each public transport authority or operator.

“I’m very grateful to CUTA for this award,” said Charles Fleurent. “It’s an honour that I’d like to share with the GIRO team, our partners at universities and research institutes, and the clients with whom I’ve been collaborating for more than 25 years. This award is also a recognition of everyone who promotes the power of optimization to make public transit more efficient.”

David Fabi, GIRO’s Vice President – Development and Technology, added, “We are very proud that Charles has been recognized by Canada’s public transit community for his expertise and pursuit of excellence through research.”