Latest news with #ARTM
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
ARTM awards $146M contract to UK company to replace OPUS system
A screenshot of a video of Masabi's Justride digital fare system being used by the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, CO. The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) has announced it will use the same platform. (Source: The Montreal regional transit authority has awarded a $146-million contract to a U.K. company to modernize the ticketing system across the metropolis. The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) announced that London-based Masabi has been asked to develop the digital ticketing transformation project. The company is behind the cloud-based Software-as-a-Service platform Justride, already used by more than 200 transit agencies around the world, including in Los Angeles, Calgary, New York, and Valencia, Spain. Masabi is partnering with WSP, a global engineering and professional services firm, to integrate the fare system in the Greater Montreal area after winning the bid. More than five other companies put forward bids for the project. It will require updating more than 12,000 pieces of equipment in five territories and involving partners like the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL), the Société de transport de Laval (STL) and the exo commuter train network. Masabi says 'riders will be able to tap to travel using contactless bank cards, mobile wallets, smartcards, and more' with Justride, which will replace the OPUS card system that has been in place for 20 years. The plastic OPUS cards, however, will be compatible with Justride and can still be used to validate fares. The ARTM says the project is within its $146-million budget, which includes contingency funds to mitigate any unforeseen hiccups, and is expected to launch sometime in 2026. The agency adds that the approach allows for the new ticketing system to evolve and add new features without needing a complete replacement of the system. Android testing comes first, iOS in 2026 The multimillion-dollar project is part of the ARTM's ongoing Concerto project, a major transformation of the ticketing system used by public transit agencies across the region. 'The cost of the Concerto project compares very favourably with similar initiatives worldwide,' the ARTM said in a news release on Wednesday. 'This is due in particular to the reuse of existing equipment, limiting infrastructure costs; a rigorous negotiation approach, which reduced costs by $95 million between the two calls for tenders; and the choice of a more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective cloud-based solution.' 'Concerto is much more than a tech project: it's a profound transformation of the public transit customer experience,' said ARTM executive director Benoit Gendron in the release. 'Let's be clear: the project is well-managed, with solid governance, rigorous monitoring, and testing before each deployment. We deeply believe in Concerto because it reflects our commitment to even more efficient and attractive public transit.' In May, the ARTM announced that it would be testing the ability to validate transit fares on users' smartphones during the summer. This involves a small sample of users, who are part of the 'alpha' version of the test phase, allowing passengers to load their transit tickets or fares directly onto their smartphones and then scan them over a reader using near-field communication (NFC) technology when passing through the turnstiles. Only users of Android smartphones will be able to participate in the testing in 2025. Testing of the function is being done in waves as the number increases over time, with a batch of 600 users now underway, followed by 1,000, then 2,000, and a large beta phase with 10,000 users by the fall. People with iPhones will have to wait a bit longer. Testing with iOS devices will only take place in 2026. Teams will collect feedback on the tests and make the necessary adjustments. As of April 2024, transit users have been able to load fares onto their OPUS cards, also via NFC, by using the Chrono mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
ARTM awards $146M contract to UK company to replace OPUS card
A screenshot of a video of Masabi's Justride digital fare system being used by the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, CO. The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) has announced it will use the same platform. (Source: The Montreal regional transit authority has awarded a $146-million contract to a U.K. company to modernize the ticketing system across the metropolis. The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) announced that London-based Masabi has been asked to develop the digital ticketing transformation project. The company is behind the cloud-based Software-as-a-Service platform Justride, already used by more than 200 transit agencies around the world, including in Los Angeles, Calgary, New York, and Valencia, Spain. Masabi is partnering with WSP, a global engineering and professional services firm, to integrate the fare system in the Greater Montreal area. It will require updating more than 12,000 pieces of equipment in five territories and involving partners like the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL), the Société de transport de Laval (STL) and the exo commuter train network. Masabi says 'riders will be able to tap to travel using contactless bank cards, mobile wallets, smartcards, and more' with Justride, which will replace the OPUS card system that has been in place for 20 years. The ARTM says the project is within its $146-million budget, which includes contingency funds to mitigate any unforeseen hiccups. The agency adds that the approach allows for the new ticketing system to evolve and add new features without needing a complete replacement of the system. The multimillion-dollar project is part of the ARTM's Concerto project, a major transformation of the ticketing system used by public transit agencies across the region. 'The cost of the Concerto project compares very favourably with similar initiatives worldwide,' the ARTM said in a news release on Wednesday. 'This is due in particular to the reuse of existing equipment, limiting infrastructure costs; a rigorous negotiation approach, which reduced costs by $95 million between the two calls for tenders; and the choice of a more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective cloud-based solution.' 'Concerto is much more than a tech project: it's a profound transformation of the public transit customer experience,' said ARTM executive director Benoit Gendron in the release. 'Let's be clear: the project is well-managed, with solid governance, rigorous monitoring, and testing before each deployment. We deeply believe in Concerto because it reflects our commitment to even more efficient and attractive public transit.' In May, the ARTM announced that it would be testing the ability to validate transit fares on users' smartphones during the summer. This involves a small sample of users, who are part of the 'alpha' version of the test phase, allowing passengers to load their transit tickets or fares directly onto their smartphones and then scan them over a reader using near-field communication (NFC) technology when passing through the turnstiles. Testing of the function is being done in waves as the number increases over time. Teams will collect feedback on the tests and make the necessary adjustments. If all goes well, the function will be rolled out to the rest of customers by the end of fall 2025. As of April 2024, transit users have been able to load fares onto their OPUS cards, also via NFC, by using the Chrono mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
Montreal Gazette
6 days ago
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
‘Technical reasons' delay launch of Opus card app for commuters with iPhones
News Montreal commuters will be able to trade their Opus cards for an app this fall, the regional transit authority says — as long as they have an Android. iPhone users will have to wait until 2026. The virtual Opus card is the latest in a broader bid to modernize payment options for Montreal-area transit. In April 2024, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) launched an app allowing transit users to load their Opus card by tapping it to their phone. This latest project will allow riders to ditch the physical card for an app. After that, the agency plans to allow users to tap their credit or debit cards directly to the fare reader, a technology it has already deployed in Laval. Digital payment options have been slower to get off the ground in Montreal than elsewhere, admitted Sylvain Perras, ARTM executive director of digital transformation. 'We probably started later,' he said. 'We're now working on catching up.' Commuters in cities including Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa can already board transit with a tap of a credit or debit card. Testing is underway for the virtual Opus card, Perras said. Fewer than 200 employees have been using the app in a trial since June, he said, and the agency invited 600 commuters to download the app Thursday. Android users will have access to the app sometime this fall, Perras said, without providing an exact date. 'It could be October, November.' The iPhone app has been slower to get off the ground, Perras said, citing 'technical reasons,' without offering specifics. About 61 per cent of Canadian smartphone users have an iPhone, while about 39 per cent use Android, according to web traffic analysis website StatCounter. Perras wouldn't provide a detailed timeline for the app's rollout, insisting he didn't want to make promises that might not be kept. But he said all commuters should be able to download virtual Opus cards at some point in 2026. New payment options should help improve ridership numbers, Perras said, adding some people avoid public transit when it seems too complicated. This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 12:31 PM.
CBC
05-07-2025
- CBC
Montreal's light-rail network shuts down until mid-August for new line testing
Commuters on Montreal's South Shore who rely on the new light-rail network to get to and from the island are going to have to find a different option for much of the summer. The regional transit authority, Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), says the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) will be completely closed from Saturday through Aug. 17 in preparation for the network's upcoming service launch. REM service on the South Shore branch will resume on Aug. 18, with detailed resumption schedules available later this summer. This work is part of the ongoing effort to complete the REM lines that link Montreal's West Island and the North Shore to downtown. Completion of the Deux-Montagnes and Anse-à-l'Orme branches was pushed back to the fall, but the REM warned late last year that the testing phase would disrupt service over the summer. Users are encouraged to consider travelling outside of peak hours or to favour teleworking whenever possible, the ARTM said in a news release this week. While shuttle buses will be running over the Champlain Bridge connecting Brossard, Que., to downtown, the agency says several public transit options remain available for travel between the South Shore and Montreal, including the Metro and commuter train. During this closure period, some regular Exo routes will see increased service. Exo routes serving the Longueuil and Angrignon terminals will have their frequency increased. The Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) will maintain regular frequency (instead of summer schedule) on several bus routes connecting REM stations to the Longueuil terminal. The ARTM has also implemented preferential measures for buses to increase service reliability and fluidity, including reserved lanes on certain routes, police presence at specific intersections in Montreal and a parking area that will allow for better bus regulation, it says. For the months of July and August, shuttles 568, 176, 721 and 722, as well as the collective taxi T72, will be available for free access to users to mitigate the impacts of this closure. REM service will also be available for free access from August 18 to 31. However, access to local lines 47 and 38 of the RTL, as well as all other public transportation services, requires a valid fare.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
As Montreal's transit system works on digital shift, critics urge focus on service over tech
Unlike other major cities like New York, Paris and London, where transit users can pay with contactless methods, Montreal riders still need a physical OPUS card to access the system. However, the Greater Montreal regional transit authority (ARTM) has been working on a digital shift called Concerto for the last few years to introduce contactless technology to its infrastructure. Since the fall of 2024, the transit agency has been developing a virtual OPUS card for smart devices. The ARTM hopes to introduce contactless payment for buses and the metro by 2026. Since April 2024, users have been able to reload their OPUS card on a mobile phone. In Laval, Exo bus riders can already pay directly with a bank card. But a transit user advocacy group argues that the multimillion-dollar project would be better spent elsewhere. Philippe Jacques, a spokesperson for Trajectoire Québec, said that while users would be very happy to have contactless payment, the priority should be improving service. He noted that Montreal has one of the oldest metro systems in the world. He said he does not believe contactless payment will increase ridership. 'It's [about] the quality of service. Maybe somebody who only takes the metro a few times a year, when they go to a Habs game or the Grand Prix, will be happy with easier payments. But for most people who take the metro everyday, I don't think it will make s difference,' Jacques said in a recent interview. 'Maybe when we will have a full set metro like in other cities in the world, and a super bus service, then it's going to be the next step, and it's interesting what you can offer to customers.' Jacques added that the most important issues that need to be addressed are the cuts and limitations to funding at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). 'The priority should be to keep the infrastructure in good conditions, and then to have more services. That would be the best. But in Montreal there's really a big problem with the metro,' he said. Technology analyst Carmi Levy also warned that government agencies often struggle to develop and deploy technology effectively, adding that the transit agency should keep it simple. 'This is about open systems, open architectures, reusing technology that has already been proven that works and so only by having an open process that allows all vendors to participate in the discussion, and you have them compete against each other for the right, the privilege to deploy this technology, only then will taxpayers, and ultimately, it comes back to taxpayers, get the best value for their money,' Levi said. With files from Stephane Giroux
