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CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Authorities say delays expected during 6-week REM closure; additional bus service announced
A Réseau express métropolitain (REM) train makes its way towards downtown in Montreal, Thursday, November 14, 2024. (Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press) Public transit users can expect some delays getting around the Montreal region this summer as the REM will be completely shut down for six weeks. The light-rail line will be closed from July 5 to Aug. 17 as testing is done on the network ahead of the commissioning of new branches to the West Island (Anse-à-l'Orme station) and to the North Shore (Deux-Montagnes station). The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) said it is launching mitigation measures, including additional bus and exo train service, to keep people moving, in collaboration with the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) and the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). 'Users may also consider traveling outside of rush hour or working remotely when possible,' the transit agency said. Here is a breakdown of the enhanced bus service during the shutdown. Lines Directions Frequency 721 (STM) Brossard ↔ Du Quartier ↔ terminus Centre-ville 2 to 4 minutes at peak times 722 (RTL) Panama ↔ terminus Centre-ville 2 to 4 minutes at peak times 568 (STM) Île-des-Sœurs ↔ 800 rue de la Gauchetière 20 minutes 176 (STM) Île-des-Sœurs ↔ 800 rue de la Gauchetière 20 minutes Taxi collectif T72 (RTL) Panama ↔ Île-des-Sœurs 30 minutes Free transit options added The ARTM also says that shuttle buses 721, 722, 568, 176, and the T72 shared taxi will be free to use during the months of July and August. The REM will also be free for users from July 1 to 4 and from Aug. 18 to 31. Access to all other public transit services will require a valid transit pass. 'It is important to remember that no bus service can replace the frequency or capacity of the REM. Consequently, certain peak periods could result in high ridership and significant wait times,' the transit agency stated. Changes to regular bus lines were also announced. Lines Changes Secteur Île-des-Sœurs – STM 176: extension of the line Secteur Le Richelain-Roussillon – exo 550, 551 and 555: addition of 6 departures 556: addition of 4 departures Secteur Chambly-Richelieu-Carignan – exo 681: addition of 2 departures Secteur Vallée-du-Richelieu – exo 200 and 201: addition of 16 departures Secteur Sainte-Julie – exo 325, 330 and 350: addition of 12 departures 'We know that the summer closure of the REM will complicate travel this summer, and we thank users in advance for their patience,' said ARTM General Manager Benoit Gendron in a news release. 'We invite you to consult the tools we have made available to help you plan your journeys. This closure is a necessary step to allow the commissioning of the next REM branches, which will transform mobility in the metropolis. The ARTM, with all its partners, remains fully mobilized to coordinate efforts and monitor the situation as it evolves.' Sylvain Yelle, CEO of exo, added: 'It is essential to work hand in hand with our partners to maintain a reliable and efficient service for the citizens of the crowns during this temporary closure. That's why exo is adapting its summer offer by keeping more than forty trips, normally suspended in summer, to facilitate access to the Longueuil and Angrignon metro stations.' Authorities said they would provide details on the REM service schedule before it resumes on Aug. 18.
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Montreal commuters could soon tap cellphones to board public transit
Public transit riders in the Montreal area may soon be able to validate their fares using only their smartphones, as the region's transit authority begins testing a new feature in the Chrono app. This is part of an ongoing effort to upgrade payment systems so one day, users can pay with their bank card as they enter the Metro or bus, as is done in other cities. The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) says the new feature will allow users to purchase and load transit passes directly in the Chrono app, enabling fare validation using their smartphones. This digital solution operates separately from the physical Opus card, which remains in use for those not participating in the app-based system. Testing of the digital fare system will roll out in phases starting this summer and continue through the fall. In the first phase, ARTM employees will try the feature, followed by a group of selected participants from the agency's Parlons Mobilité panel, the ARTM says in an email to CBC News. These early users will be able to buy and load transit passes through Chrono and validate them on the network using their phones. WATCH | Validating transit fares with your smartphone coming to Montreal: Montrealers closer to tapping phones to pay for transit, but more testing still ahead Duration 2:08 Unlike in many other cities around the world, including Laval, Que., you can't pay for public transit directly with your cellphone or credit card in the city. But Montreal's regional transit authority is piloting a project to change that. Participants will be asked to share their feedback via a questionnaire. After the testing phase, the ARTM says this new system could roll out by late fall. "The innovation of smartphone-based validation aims to better meet the evolving needs of customers by providing new channels for ticket purchasing and validation, simplifying their public transit experience," the ARTM says in the email. While the long-term goal includes allowing direct payment by bank card through phones, ARTM says that's a separate upgrade requiring a new ticketing system. A call for tenders for that overhaul is underway, with deployment targeted for 2026. The agency emphasized that the new Chrono app feature is not a digital replica of the Opus card. At this stage, no link will exist between the app and physical cards or passes, and the Opus card will remain a valid option for fare validation. Further details will be shared as the project advances. Step in the right direction, expert says Ahmed El-Geneidy, a professor at McGill University's School of Urban Planning, said this is a small step, but a good step — especially for younger generations who pay for everything with their phone. "So it can help in retaining some of these riders longer because of convenience and make them happy," said El-Geneidy. "Open payment like London is the next step and they have to go there sooner or later. They just keep pushing it." It's not just London that allows contactless payments as users enter the tube or a double-decker bus. People using the transit service in Laval, Que., have been able to pay with their bank and credit cards for some time. In Vancouver, public transit, including the SkyTrain, can be paid for by tapping a contactless card as you enter the station or bus. When that comes along, El-Geneidy said fare capping will be important. That means you pay a small amount every day with the same card until you reach the monthly pass price and it stops charging for the rest of the month. This payment plan is particularly useful for people living on a low income who cannot afford to pay upfront for a monthly pass, he said. Group wants on-time, reliable service 1st Philippe Jacques, spokesperson for the public transit advocacy group Trajectoire Québec, said his group would like to see Montreal-area services be more timely and efficient before focusing on payment methods, but every step forward is welcome. The new system will make it easier to take the Metro and bus, but it's not as easy as it could be, said Jacques. These systems cost money to implement, he said, but "it's better to have a better subway system and bus system." He said it's been more than a year that users can recharge their Opus cards on their phones, but efforts to make it easier to access the public transit system are not going as fast as they should. "We would like it to go further and go faster," said Jacques. "But we know it's a bit complicated to have all the different types of payments. We know it's not that easy." When the ARTM unveiled its new service of allowing users to reload their Opus cards via the Chrono app in April of last year, it said the Opus card system was nearing its end. The next system, referred to as Opus 2.0, will allow transit users to use their credit and debit cards as well as the virtual wallets in their phones to pay for bus, Metro, train and REM access.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Montreal users will be able to test validating transit fares with their phones this summer
Montreal public transit users might be able to board the bus or Metro with just a tap of their smartphone later this year. The regional transit authority confirmed that it is testing the new functionality beginning this summer with a small sample of users in the Greater Montreal area. Under the 'alpha' version of the test phase, first reported by La Presse on Monday, users would be able to load their transit tickets or OPUS cards directly onto their smartphones and then scan the phone over a reader using near-field communication (NFC) technology when passing through the turnstiles. Testing will be done in waves, with the number of testers increasing gradually, Simon Boiteau, a spokesperson for the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), wrote in an email to CTV News. 'The aim is to obtain feedback from users with a variety of mobile devices and, if necessary, make the necessary adjustments to the beta version,' Boiteau added. Depending on how well the testing goes this summer, the feature could be rolled out on a gradual basis to the rest of customers by the end of Fall 2025. The ability to pay for a fare directly with a smartphone or a bank card is scheduled to launch in 2026. Since 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.
CBC
04-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
As shuttle bus service ends, transit agency says REM can be trusted
As of Monday, people commuting between downtown Montreal and the South Shore will no longer have access to shuttle buses as a plan B — and the people behind the REM say you can trust that the light-rail train service will run smoothly from now on. Since February, the transit planning agency for the greater Montreal area, known by its French acronym ARTM, had arranged for shuttle buses to run parallel to the REM due to recurring technical problems with the light-rail train that caused many delays for commuters. During that time, both the ARTM and the CDPQ Infra — the subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec that developed the REM — acknowledged that shuttle buses were a necessary backup plan because trains had become too unreliable. "Satisfying levels of stability and performance over the past few weeks allow us to efficiently meet the users' needs," the ARTM wrote in a statement this past weekend. Jean-Marc Arbaud, the president and CEO of CDPQ Infra, echoed those sentiments, adding that the REM service has become more predictable in recent weeks. The shuttle buses were operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and the Réseau de Transport de Longueuil (RTL). Here are the three shuttle buses that will no longer run: Shuttle bus 722 (RTL) between the Panama station and the Central Station in downtown Montreal. Shuttle bus 721 (STL) between the Brossard station and the Central Station. Shuttle bus 568 (STL) between the Île-des-Soeurs station and the Central Station. The REM's constant service issues drew the ire of riders as well as Doreen Asaad, the mayor of Brossard. In February, she called for bus lines 45 and 90 to be permanently re-established. The two lines transported riders over the Champlain Bridge to Montreal before the REM's non-compete clause axed them. Due to work on the REM's network, the service hours between downtown Montreal and the South Shore are restricted. Trains runs between 5:30 a.m. and about 8:40 p.m., depending on the direction. The REM is shut down on weekends. Shuttle buses will remain available after 8:40 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends.
Montreal Gazette
30-04-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Montreal-area transit fares to rise by 3% in July
By The majority of public transit fares in the Montreal metropolitan area will increase by an average of three per cent starting July 1, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) announced on Wednesday. The transit authority said the limited indexation is a 'responsible and necessary choice' in the current economic context, intended to balance financial sustainability with affordability for passengers. A single trip in Zone A (the Montreal agglomeration) will remain at $3.75, but a monthly pass will go up to $104.50 from $100. A Zone AB ticket (covering the STM, STL and RTL service areas) will cost $5, up from $4.75, and a monthly pass will be $164.50, up from $160. 'In the current economic context, the ARTM is making the responsible and necessary choice to maintain the indexation of the fare grid for public transit tickets in the Montreal metropolitan area at three per cent,' said director general Benoît Gendron. 'This measure helps limit the financial impact on customers, while ensuring that we can continue to offer a reliable and efficient service.' Special fares for RTL and REM users will see the biggest jump — 12 per cent — as the ARTM moves toward phasing them out in favour of Zone AB fares. Legacy train-only passes and TRAM passes for the former Zones 4 and 6 will no longer be offered as of July 1. Full details of the updated fare schedule, including specific pricing for various ticket types, are available at
