Here's what there is to expect as far as schedule changes this weekend and next:

STM (Montreal, including the entire metro)

Details from the STM's website. For details on adapted transit or customer service, consult their page.

Note that from Dec. 24 to Jan. 8, the STM offers its Family Outings plan, which allows an adult to bring up to five children under 12 to ride for free with a fare-paying adult. (Normally this is allowed only during weekends and statutory holidays.) This does not apply to the 747 bus.

• Saturday, Dec. 24:
  • Buses and metro service will follow a regular Saturday schedule.
• Sunday, Dec. 25:
  • Most bus routes will run on a Sunday schedule.
  • Metro trains will pass about every 10-12 minutes on the green line and every 10 minutes on the other lines.
• Monday, Dec. 26:
  • Most bus routes will run on a special schedule.
  • Metro service will run on a special schedule, with additional trains added to the Orange and Green lines from 8:30am to 7pm to accommodate rabid Boxing Day shoppers.
  • Monday to Friday shared taxi service will not be in operation.
• Dec. 27-30: Normal weekday schedules for all services.
• Saturday, Dec. 31:
  • Buses, metro and taxi service will follow a regular Saturday schedule.
  • Once again, there's no extension of metro service despite how many people are out celebrating New Year's Eve, but because it happens to be on a Saturday people get a half-hour more than usual. Last trains of the night leave the two blue line terminuses at 12:15am, in all five directions from Berri at 1:30am and from Longueuil at 1:30am.
• Sunday, Jan. 1:
  • Bus routes will follow Sunday schedules for the most part.
  • Metro trains will pass about every 10-12 minutes on the green line and every 10 minutes on the other lines.
• Monday, Jan. 2:
  • Bus routes and metro trains will follow a special schedule.

Note that Opus cards can be recharged at any point after Dec. 20.

STL (Laval)

As usual, the STL offers free transit on its buses on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

• Saturday, Dec. 24: Saturday schedule. Free service on all routes.
• Sunday, Dec. 25:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes.
  • The following will only have service from 11am to 9pm: 12, 20, 25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 45, 46, 58, 61, 63, 65, 66, 74, 144, 804 and 903.
  • All other routes will have full regular Sunday service.
• Monday, Dec. 26: Saturday schedules in effect for all routes.
• Dec. 27-30: Regular weekday schedules for all routes.
• Saturday, Dec. 31: Saturday schedule. Free service on all routes.
• Sunday, Jan. 1:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes.
  • The following will only have service from 11am to 9pm: 12, 20, 25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 45, 46, 58, 61, 63, 65, 66, 74, 144, 804 and 903.
  • All other routes will have full regular Sunday service.
• Monday, Jan 2: Saturday schedule for all routes.

RTL (Longueuil)

Like the STL, the RTL is offering free service for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and is asking for donations in lieu of fares.

From their PDF guide:

• Saturday, Dec. 24 (free service): Saturday schedule for all routes
• Sunday, Dec. 25: Sunday schedule for all routes
• Monday, Dec. 26:
• Saturday schedules for most routes.
• Saturday schedule with additional departures on lines 8, 35, 45, 80.
• Weekday schedule for taxi lines T22 and T89.
• Dec. 27-30: Regular weekday service for all routes
• Saturday, Dec. 31 (free service): Saturday schedule for all routes
• Sunday, Jan. 1:
• Sunday schedule for all routes
• Monday, Jan. 2:
• Saturday schedules for most routes.
• Saturday schedule with additional departures on lines 8, 35, 45, 80.

AMT (commuter trains)

The AMT offers free trips on the two lines that operate on Christmas and New Year's - Dorion/Rigaud and Deux-Montagnes.

From their website:

• Saturday, Dec. 24: Regular Saturday service on all lines
• Sunday, Dec. 25:
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes and Montreal/Dorion (all trips are free)
• Monday, Dec. 26:
  • Saturday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Dorion
  • No service on other lines
• Dec. 27-30: Regular weekday service on all lines
• Saturday, Dec. 31: Regular Saturday service on all lines
• Sunday, Jan. 1:
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes and Montreal/Dorion (all trips are free)
• Monday, Jan. 2:
  • Saturday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Dorion
  • No service on other lines

Customer service at the AMT will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Related Posts

• Transit fares for 2012
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit
• 2009-10 guide to holiday transit
• Transit agencies aren’t giving enough notice of fare increases
• Fagstein’s Guide to Holiday Transit

The STM's press release (sent on Friday, which made Métro's Mathias Marchal wonder if it was trying to get hidden in news coverage) talks about all the additional service it provides in exchange for this modest increase, and they're not making it up - there have been significant increases in transit service over the past few years. But for most users, that increase isn't enough - buses and metro trains are still packed during rush hour, and still don't seem to come often enough outside of it.

No more six tickets or CAM Longueuil

Two fares disappear completely from the grid for 2012. One is the CAM Longueuil, a compromise set up for 2011 that allowed users of the Longueuil metro station to transition from a regular STM fare to a Zone 3 fare.

People who use the Longueuil metro station (but who don't use the RTL network) will go from paying $82 a month ($49 reduced fare) to $117 a month ($70 reduced fare, $93.50 intermediate fare). This represents a 43% increase, or a whopping 91% increase for students 18-25.

The other item gone from the fare table is the six-trip package. Originally designed to be a single disposable magnetic card that could be used six times, the STM quickly started giving out six individual tickets when it noticed that careless users would discard their ticket after one use.

There is still the 10-ticket package available, but that requires an Opus card. This means that people who don't want an Opus card (say, tourists) must buy tickets two at a time or use the "Carte occasionnelle" one-day or three-day tourist pass.

Fare progression chart

Here's a chart showing the STM's fares over the past five years:

I'll leave it to you to decide if these increases are too much in the short or long term.

UPDATE: Here's some progression tables for Montreal's other transit agencies:

AMT

I value my sanity, so I won't do the entire fare table. I'll limit this table to the most popular fare, the TRAM fare, for each zone. (Zone 8 doesn't have any train stations, but does have some bus service). The full 2012 fare table is here (PDF).

The AMT says it will also maintain the "discount" allowing people using the Hudson train station, which is in Zone 6, to use a Zone 5 pass. This policy has been in place since Hudson (and Rigaud) were moved from Zone 5 to Zone 6 on Jan. 1, 2005.

STL

Slight hikes in all categories, including an increase in the cash fare from $2.80 to $3, which is equal to the STM cash fare and the cash fare to enter the Laval metro stations. It also brings it back up to the level it was in 2007. The fare was reduced in 2008 to encourage more people to use transit.

The full list of fares is here.

RTL

The full fare table for 2012 is here.

*In 2009, the RTL eliminated transfers and reduced single fares. (All other fares moved to electronic cards.) As of then, cash fares no longer allowed transfers, hence the reduction in price.

Related Posts

• Transit agencies aren’t giving enough notice of fare increases
• AMT fares going up too
• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit
• 2009-10 guide to holiday transit

A train bridge just west of the Mercier Bridge is being used more as the Mercier undergoes repairs

I can be a bit critical of transit agencies when they fail, so it's only fair that I point out when they do something right.

Hours after the Quebec ministry of transport ordered the older of two spans of the Mercier Bridge be closed, the AMT announced that, starting Thursday (a day and a half after the closure), they would add three departures in each direction to the Montreal-Candiac commuter train line, effectively boosting its service by 50%.

The Candiac line, the youngest and least frequent of the AMT's five commuter train lines, uses a railway bridge just west of the Mercier Bridge (Wikipedia tells me it's called the Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge) between LaSalle and Kahnawake, and is unaffected by the Mercier's closing.

The three new departures are inbound at 6:35, 8:25 and 10:30 am (the latter is notably the only train between 9am and 1pm), and outbound at 9:35am (the only outbound train before noon), 3:55pm and 5:55pm. You can see a schedule with these new departures here (PDF).

The AMT has also promised to increase parking by hundreds of spaces at the Candiac, Saint-Constant and Sainte-Catherine stations.

Now, if I were to be really cynical, I'd point out that of these six added departures, only one actually helps with the problem directly. The newer span of the Mercier Bridge is being open inbound between midnight and noon and outbound between noon and midnight, so that rush-hour traffic can still pass through. The problem is for off-peak traffic - those who go to the South Shore in the morning or to Montreal in the afternoon or evening. Only the 9:35am departure from Lucien L'Allier station will travel in a direction that car traffic is prohibited from taking. And that train is obviously useless for anyone who has to work at 9am.

The 1:20pm inbound train from Candiac is also an alternative at a time when it's needed. That departure existed before. Unfortunately, there are no inbound departures after that for people who work anything close to a regular 9-to-5 shift on the South Shore.

On weekends, when traffic is only one lane in each direction, the Candiac line doesn't run, so it's useless. As far as commuters are concerned, that third span is just as dead as the first between Friday evening and Monday morning.

I commend the AMT for acting quickly to add train service during a stressful time for commuters. I hope it will be enough to entice some people to use public transit more often. But some more thought should be given to those who don't fit the cliché of the South Shore commuter. People who live on the island and work day jobs in Kahnawake, Châteauguay, Candiac and other places nearby are getting screwed, and the train isn't helping them much.

UPDATE (June 20): The Parti Québécois seems to agree with me.

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• AMT allows bicycles on more trains
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit
• Montreal Geography Trivia No. 80

Central Station is no longer off-limits to bicycles

It didn't get much attention, but the Agence métropolitaine de transport has loosened its restrictions for carrying bicycles aboard commuter trains, opening them up for the first time on all five lines instead of just two.

Previously, bicycles were only allowed outside rush hours (meaning midday or late night on weekdays, and on weekends), only on the Deux-Montagnes and Vaudreuil-Hudson lines, and even then not at all stations (Central Station was the most prominent to now not allow bicycles, presumably because of the difficulty of navigating them through staircases and through the underground malls).

Under the new rules, which took effect May 1, bicycles are now allowed on all five lines, and are allowed on all trains except those during rush hour in the direction of the rush (so bicycles are allowed on morning trains toward the suburbs, and afternoon trains toward downtown).

They're also allowed at all stations except three: Hudson (which is moot because it's only served by rush-hour trains), Île Perrot and Candiac (the latter two probably because of platform issues).

Central Station has a few specific rules: Bicycles are only allowed to enter and exit the platform through the central staircase and the elevators, and are only permitted to enter and leave Central Station through the de la Gauchetière exit (so bicycles can't be walked through the underground city or toward Place Ville-Marie).

Rush hours, according to the schedules, are:

• Deux-Montagnes-Montreal: Trains up to 9am. Trains at 9:55am and after are permitted
• Montreal-Deux-Montagnes: Trains from 3pm to 6:20pm, inclusive
• Vaudreuil-Montreal: Trains up to the 8:10am departure from Vaudreuil
• Montreal-Vaudreuil: Trains from 3:15pm to 6pm, inclusive
• Blainville-Montreal: Trains up to the 7:25am departure from Saint-Jérôme (note that no trains leaving Saint-Jérôme allow bicycles because they're all during rush hour)
• Montreal-Saint-Jérôme: Lucien L'Allier departures from 3:35pm to 5:30pm, inclusive (the final departure at 6:45pm allows bicycles, and goes to Saint-Jérôme)
• Delson-Montreal: Departures before and including 8:05am
• Montreal-Delson: Lucien L'Allier departures from 3:40pm to 5:15pm, inclusive
• Saint-Hilaire-Montreal: All morning departures (1:45pm and 7pm allow bicycles)
• Montreal-Saint-Hilaire: Central Station departures from 4:30pm to 6pm, inclusive

Related Posts

• AMT lets kids under 12 ride free*
• AMT to study full electrification of commuter trains
• LaSalle’s tiny platform comes back to life
• AMT gives back … with coupons
• AMT announces additional service on four train lines

As I have in previous years, I ask that you have some sympathy for the bus, metro or train driver, station attendant or other employee who has to work during the holidays - some on Christmas morning, some through midnight on New Year's Eve - just so that you can get you from point A to point B in the dark, wet, snowy mess that is the last week of the year.

STM (Montreal, including the entire metro)

(Mainly from the STM's website):

• Friday, Dec. 24:
  • Buses and metro service will follow a regular weekday schedule.
  • Taxi service runs as normal.
• Saturday, Dec. 25:
  • Most bus routes will run on a Saturday schedule.
  • Metro trains will pass about every 10-12 minutes on the green line and every 10 minutes on the other lines.
• Sunday, Dec. 26:
  • Most bus routes will run on a Sunday schedule.
  • Metro service will run on a regular Sunday schedule, though additional trains will be added to the Orange (8:30am-7:30pm) and Green (8:30am-5:45pm) lines to accommodate rabid Boxing Day shoppers.
• Dec. 27-30: Normal weekday schedules for all services, though customer service and paratransit service have special hours and provisions for this week.
• Friday, Dec. 31:
  • Buses, metro and taxi service will follow a regular weekday schedule.
  • Once again, there's no extension of metro service despite how many people are out celebrating New Year's Eve. Last trains of the night leave the two blue line terminuses at 12:15am, in all five directions from Berri at 1am and from Longueuil at 1am.
  • Night buses with a special Friday night schedule (including the 358 Sainte-Catherine) will run on that schedule.
• Saturday, Jan. 1:
  • Bus routes will follow Saturday schedules for the most part.
  • Metro trains will pass about every 10-12 minutes on the green line and every 10 minutes on the other lines.
• Sunday, Jan. 2:
  • All services will follow regular Sunday schedules.

Note that Opus cards can be recharged at any point after Dec. 20.

STL (Laval)

As usual, the STL offers free transit on its buses on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (PDF).

• Dec. 24: Saturday schedule. Free service on all routes.
• Dec. 25:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes.
  • The following will only have service from 11am to 9pm: 12, 20, 25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 45, 46, 58, 61, 63, 65, 66, 74, 144, 804 and 903.
  • The following will have full regular Sunday service: 17, 24, 26, 42, 43, 48, 50, 52, 55, 56, 60, 70, 73, 76, and 151.
• Dec. 26: Regular Sunday schedules in effect for all routes.
• Dec. 27-30: Regular weekday schedules for all routes.
• Dec. 31: Saturday schedule. Free service on all routes.
• Jan. 1:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes.
  • The following will only have service from 11am to 9pm: 12, 20, 25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 45, 46, 58, 61, 63, 65, 66, 74, 144, 804 and 903.
  • The following will have full regular Sunday service: 17, 24, 26, 42, 43, 48, 50, 52, 55, 56, 60, 70, 73, 76, and 151.
• Jan 2: Regular Sunday schedule for all routes.

RTL (Longueuil)

Like the STL, the RTL is offering free service for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and is asking for donations in lieu of fares.

From their PDF guide:

• Dec. 24 (free service):
  • Regular weekday schedule for lines 91, 92, T22, T89
  • Saturday schedule for lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 29, 32, 41/43, 49, 50, 54, 61, 74, 75, 88, 132, T18, T20, T48 and T92 p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 19.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia}
  • Special schedule for lines 8, 13, 17, 20, 23, 123, 35, 42, 44, 45, 54, 73, 77, 80, 81, 83, 99 and T77 (see PDF flyer for complete schedule) p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 19.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia}
  • No service on other lines

• Dec. 25:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes
• Dec. 26:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes
• Dec. 27-30:
  • Regular service for all routes according to the day of the week
• Dec. 31 (free service):
  • Regular weekday schedule for lines 91, 92, T22, T89
  • Saturday schedule for lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 29, 32, 41/43, 49, 50, 54, 61, 74, 75, 88, 132, T18, T20, T48 and T92
  • Special schedule for lines 8, 13, 17, 20, 23, 123, 35, 42, 44, 45, 54, 73, 77, 80, 81, 83, 99 and T77 (see PDF flyer for complete schedule)
  • No service on other lines
• Jan. 1:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes
• Jan. 2:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes

AMT (commuter trains)

The AMT offers free trips on the two lines that operate on Christmas and New Year's - Dorion/Rigaud and Deux-Montagnes.

From their website:

• Friday, Dec. 24: Regular weekday service on all lines
• Saturday, Dec. 25:
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes and Montreal/Dorion (all trips are free)
  • No service on the other lines
• Sunday, Dec. 26:
  • Saturday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Dorion
• Dec. 27-31: Regular service on all lines according to day of the week
• Saturday, Jan. 1:
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes and Montreal/Dorion (all trips are free)
  • No service on the other lines
• Sunday, Jan. 2:
  • Saturday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Dorion

Customer service at the AMT will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• 2009-10 guide to holiday transit
• Transit agencies aren’t giving enough notice of fare increases
• Fagstein’s Guide to Holiday Transit

UPDATE: A bunch of you got this right, though NDGer was the first. It's the border between the AMT's Zones 1 and 2 (grey and pink on this map).

The AMT's zoning system (where higher-numbered zones pay more to use commuter trains and multiple-network bus trips) is roughly based on the distance to downtown Montreal (assuming that everyone is travelling downtown to work, which of course isn't always the case).

There are some quirks though, for example Lachine is considered Zone 1 while Longueuil, which is much closer to downtown, is Zone 3. Similarly, Kahnawake (Zone 5) is closer than Pointe-Claire (Zone 2), and most of the Zone 8 territories are closer than Rigaud (Zone 6), though that won't matter once Rigaud loses its train service on July 1.

Thanks to SMS for this week's question.

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• Montreal Geography Trivia No. 83
• AMT acted quickly, but they can do more
• AMT allows bicycles on more trains

Airport train's possible routes: CP route to Lucien L'Allier (red) and CN route to Central Station (blue)

Using existing railways, there are two possible routes, each of which ends at a different terminus:

• Using CP tracks that go through NDG and Westmount, ending at Lucien L'Allier station just outside the Bell Centre. This is the same path used by the Dorion/Rigaud train line.
• Using mainly CN tracks, passing through the Turcot interchange and St. Henri and ending at Central Station. This is the path used by VIA trains to Toronto and Ottawa.

This debate is in the news again because Aéroports de Montréal (which runs the airport) and the Agence métropolitaine de transport (which runs the commuter trains) are having a pissing match, refusing to give in on their choices. The AMT wants to use the CP route, because it's cheaper and because it uses tracks (and stations) already used by the AMT. ADM wants to use the CN route because it leads to Central Station and downtown hotels.

Both camps are now using quantitative data to make their cases. Joël Gauthier, of the AMT, points to the fact that the CP route is significantly less expensive - $786 million vs. $1.1 billion. James Cherry, of the ADM, points to a study that shows ridership would be 22 per cent higher if the train ended at Central Station.

Various third parties are also jumping in, some on Cherry's side making the Central Station argument, others on Gauthier's side for Lucien L'Allier.

Despite what both these men think, the issue is neither obvious nor is there a desperate need to make a snappy decision. Yeah, it's been years, but these studies are only coming to light now, and this kind of study is the difference between a billion-dollar project and a billion-dollar boondoggle.

That said, unless there's some other serious study that needs to be done, it's about time to make a decision. So let's put all our cards on the table. Here are, from what I can see, the benefits of each route:

CP route (Lucien L'Allier)

• It's about 30% cheaper (though ADM says private financing would cover the excess cost of the CN route)
• The route is shorter, and will probably be a few minutes faster
• It uses tracks used exclusively by commuter trains, which means there's no conflict with freight trains east of Lachine
• There are already commuter train stations along the route, which means it would connect not only downtown and the airport, but also Montreal West and NDG
• Because it uses the same route, it could be merged with the Dorion/Rigaud line
• There's space at Lucien L'Allier station to accommodate more trains (two tracks currently sit unused, its rails broken)
• Downtown terminus sits directly atop a metro station, with another direct connection at Vendôme
• Taking the AMT plan would put control of the project in the hands of the government instead of the arrogant ADM who have no desire to improve service to the West Island

CN route (Central Station)

• Better connection to the underground city and large downtown buildings (particularly Place Ville-Marie) and hotels
• Better connection with VIA/Amtrak inter-city trains
• A sheltered taxi stand is mere feet from the gates
• Just as the CP route could be integrated with commuter trains, the CN route could be integrated with VIA
• Warmer/more comfortable in the winter or rain, particularly if a lounge is built in Central Station similar to one used by first-class VIA passengers
• No worries about being caught behind commuter trains during rush hour (particularly if the airport train is to be a non-stop express)
• Could lead to the establishment of new commuter stations in St. Henri that would improve public transit in that area
• More likely to please rich Westmount people who don't like trains in their backyards
• Following the ADM's plan would involve more private financing, and the plan would be a privately-run system that would finance itself
• Central Station is pretty (though not that pretty)

Although I'm not 100% committed, looking at the list above I'm tempted to pick the CP option. It's cheaper, it's faster and it works better with existing commuter service.

Plus, one of the chief arguments against it, that Lucien L'Allier isn't "central" enough, doesn't really work for me.

The myth of the "central" station

Downtown train stations are marked in orange, metro stations in blue.

I've done the walk many times between Bonaventure and Central Station, and between Lucien L'Allier metro and train stations. Not only is Lucien L'Allier simpler (as soon as you exit the station you see trains) compared to the meandering underground route to Central Station, but it's faster and requires less walking. And this entirely ignores a second direct transfer point at the Vendôme station, which would be worked on anyway with the new superhospital coming.

Lucien L'Allier would probably require some work if it gets high train traffic (an elevator from track level to metro level would help), but it's definitely a better connection. If we assume a large number of people taking a shuttle train downtown will switch to the metro, Lucien L'Allier becomes a much better choice.

That isn't to say Central Station isn't better located for those walking to their destinations. Place Ville-Marie is an escalator ride away, and more large downtown hotels are within walking distance, as the ADM explains in their slick video. The ADM study says the Central Station option would see more use, but I don't know how much of that is real and how much is perception. (And if that were the case, why don't all commuter trains go to Central Station?)

The stupid option

I should clarify something about the CP route: It's not exactly what AMT is proposing.

Instead of ending at Lucien L'Allier, the AMT is proposing that the railway deviate slightly near the end, and cross a yet-to-be-built bridge to reach a yet-to-be-built intermodal terminus on the south side of St. Antoine.

It's at this point that people bring up the fact that if the Bell Centre hadn't been constructed in the way, the commuter trains would end at Windsor Station and we wouldn't need to build a new terminal.

Though the terminal would be mainly financed privately, it would still be incredibly expensive - not to mention ugly - compared to the simple solution of just having the trains use the two unused tracks at Lucien L'Allier that sit right next to the entrance to the metro station.

Some of the criticism of the CP route is actually just criticism of this silly idea of the AMT's, which involves a lot of wishful thinking and can easily go very wrong.

What's wrong with just running a train from Lucien L'Allier to the airport? Or having the Dorion/Rigaud line run an airport detour? The installation of an elevator to the metro and a shelter above the platforms would make things a bit easier on travellers, but I don't think the option is so awful, so out of the way that it has to be dismissed at great expense.

It's the simplest answer. So why isn't it the correct one?

UPDATE (May 26): Henry Aubin also comes out in favour of the CP route.

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• AMT acted quickly, but they can do more
• AMT allows bicycles on more trains
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit

Here's what to expect from the Montreal-area transit authorities for service this holiday season, including special holiday service schedules and free service days.

Once again, I ask that you have some sympathy for the bus or metro driver who has to work during the holidays getting whiny vomiting drunk people from A to B in thick snow.

STM (Montreal, including the entire metro)

(From the STM's website):

• Dec. 24:
  • Buses and metro service will follow a regular weekday schedule
  • Paratransit service continues as normal. Customer service open from 8:30am to noon.
  • Taxi service runs as normal.
• Dec. 25:
  • Bus routes will follow Sunday schedules for the most part.
  • Metro service will be about every 10 minutes on all lines.
  • Regular paratransit service is suspended and a special reservation system is in place. Trips have to be scheduled 3-7 days in advance. Customer service is closed.
  • Taxi service is cancelled.
• Dec. 26:
  • Bus routes will follow Saturday or Sunday schedules, depending on the route.
  • Metro service will run on a regular Saturday schedule, though additional trains will be added to the Orange (9:45am-7:30pm) and Green (12pm-5:45pm) lines to accommodate rabid Boxing Day shoppers.
  • Regular paratransit service is suspended and a special reservation system is in place. Trips have to be scheduled 3-7 days in advance. Customer service is closed.
• Dec. 27: Normal Sunday schedules for all services, but regular schedules for paratransit are cancelled.
• Dec. 28-30:
  • Bus, metro and taxi service as normal according to day of the week.
  • Regular paratransit service is suspended and a special reservation system is in place. Trips have to be scheduled 3-7 days in advance. Customer service is open 8:30am to 4:30pm.
• Dec. 31:
  • Buses and metro service will follow a regular weekday schedule. (Note that last trains leave Berri-UQAM just before 1am and both Blue Line terminuses at 12:15am).
  • Regular paratransit service is suspended and a special reservation system is in place. Trips have to be scheduled 3-7 days in advance. Customer service open from 8:30am to noon.
  • Taxi service runs as normal.
• Jan. 1:
  • Bus routes will follow Sunday schedules for the most part.
  • Metro service will be at every 10 minutes on all lines.
  • Regular paratransit service is suspended and a special reservation system is in place. Trips have to be scheduled 3-7 days in advance. Customer service is closed.
  • Taxi service is cancelled.
• Jan. 2:
  • All services will follow regular Saturday schedules.

Note that Opus cards can be recharged at any point after Dec. 20.

STL (Laval)

As usual, the STL offers free transit on its buses on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (PDF).

• Dec. 24: Saturday schedule. Free service on all routes.
• Dec. 25:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes.
  • The following will only have service from 11am to 9pm: 12, 20, 25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 45, 46, 58, 61, 63, 65, 66, 74, 144, 804 et 903.
• Dec. 26-30: Regular schedules according to the day of the week.
• Dec. 31: Saturday schedule. Free service on all routes.
• Jan. 1:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes.
  • The following will only have service from 11am to 9pm: 12, 20, 25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 45, 46, 58, 61, 63, 65, 66, 74, 144, 804 et 903.
• Jan 2: Saturday schedule.

RTL (Longueuil)

Like the STL, the RTL is offering free service for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and is asking for donations in lieu of fares.

From their PDF guide:

• Dec. 24 (free service*):
  • Lines 8, 13, 17, 20, 23, 42, 45, 54, 73, 77 (replacing 177) 80, 81, 83, 123 and T77 will operate on a special schedule
  • Lines 91, 92, 93, T22, T89, T99 will run on a regular weekday schedule
  • All other lines run on a Saturday schedule
• Dec. 25:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes
• Dec. 26:
  • Saturday schedule for all routes
• Dec. 27-30:
  • Regular service for all routes according to the day of the week
• Dec. 31 (free service*):
  • Lines 8, 13, 17, 20, 23, 42, 45, 54, 73, 77 (replacing 177) 80, 81, 83, 123 and T77 will operate on a special schedule
  • Lines 91, 92, 93, T22, T89, T99 will run on a regular weekday schedule
  • All other lines run on a Saturday schedule
• Jan. 1:
  • Sunday schedule for all routes
• Jan. 2:
  • Saturday schedule for all routes

AMT (Commuter trains)

The AMT offers free trips on the two lines that operate on Christmas and New Year's - Dorion/Rigaud and Deux-Montagnes.

From their website:

• Dec. 24: Regular weekday service on all lines
• Dec. 25: Free trips on all commuter trains
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes and Montreal/Dorion
  • No service on the other lines
• Dec. 26:
  • Saturday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Dorion
• Dec. 27-31: Regular service on all lines according to day of the week
• Jan. 1: Free trips on all commuter trains
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes and Montreal/Dorion
  • No service on the other lines
• Jan. 2:
  • Saturday service on Montreal/Deux-Montagnes
  • Sunday service on Montreal/Dorion

Customer service at the AMT will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s Guide to Holiday Transit
• Your guide to holiday transit service
• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit

The AMT fares are going up by 1.5 to 2%, which is much less than the 3-4% they went up at the beginning of 2009. So a $100 pass would go up by $2 on Jan. 1, 2010, when it went up by $3.50 on Jan. 1, 2009.

Here's the skinny by zone and type:

*Hudson and Rigaud are technically in Zone 6, but the AMT is extending its "reduction tarifiaire" so people who use those stations need only a Zone 5 pass.

The released table doesn't list prices for single fares, I guess because there won't be any of those anymore. Which is a shame.

Related Posts

• Transit fares for 2012
• Transit agencies aren’t giving enough notice of fare increases
• AMT ends paper tickets on commuter trains
• AMT (finally) releases 2009 fare table
• AMT fares going up too

But in the past couple of years, the transit agencies have been lazy, pushing late November into early December, giving people only a few weeks to prepare.

Now, this may seem trivial. In the past, the only real effect of cutting it this close has been printing monthly passes without prices on them (AA$ and BB$) for January and February. But it seems just another disrespect of users for these transit agencies to not follow their own rules.

La Presse points out that the STM and RTL haven't yet given notice of their fares for 2009, the STL didn't respond to say whether or not it had, and the AMT has apparently given notice to the government but not its users about fares for 2010.

The 30 days notice comes from Quebec's law concerning public transit corporations, section 90:

Titres de transport.

90. Une société établit, par règlement, différents titres de transport et en fixe les tarifs selon les modalités et pour les catégories d'usagers qu'elle détermine.

Tarifs.

Le secrétaire publie ces tarifs dans un journal diffusé dans le territoire de la société et les affiche dans les véhicules de la société. Ils entrent en vigueur le trentième jour qui suit cette publication ou à toute autre date ultérieure qui y est fixée.

Entrée en vigueur accélérée.

Cependant, lorsque la société est d'avis que des circonstances exceptionnelles le justifient, les tarifs peuvent entrer en vigueur à compter du dixième jour de leur publication pourvu qu'elle publie également les motifs de sa décision.

2001, c. 23, a. 90.

It's unclear if the transit agencies are ignoring the law, if this law somehow doesn't apply to them (or maybe I've read it wrong) or they're using that "exceptional circumstances" rule.

One thing is clear, as far as public notice goes, this is becoming a habit. Last year, the RTL, STL and AMT all announced fare schedules less than 30 days before Jan. 1. Only the STM announced its fares in November.

There are no exceptional circumstances. We should have fare tables by now.

Related Posts

• Transit fares for 2012
• AMT fares going up too
• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit
• 2009-10 guide to holiday transit

File photo of a train for illustration win!

At midnight Friday night, CN locomotive engineers went on strike, following their 72-hour notice that sent everyone in a panic because two AMT train lines (Deux-Montagnes and Mont-Saint-Hilaire) are run by those engineers and would have been disrupted or even shut down if there was a strike.

Fortunately, late Friday night the union agreed (or was forced to through an AMT injunction) to keep service on the AMT trains running as normal through the strike.

As you can expect from the AMT's deficient customer service, there's no mention of this late-night, last-minute change - or even of the strike itself - on their website's homepage, despite all the media attention it has been getting. Even under "avis aux voyageurs", there's no mention of the potentially crippling strike, and users get the very unhelpful "aucune information disponible" for the status of all five train lines. You have to know to go to the AMT's corporate website to find a press release saying service won't be affected.

Contrast that with VIA Rail, which has its own engineers and so wasn't going to be affected in the first place. Nevertheless, there's a section of its homepage for travel advisories, and it says very clearly that service won't be affected by the CN strike. (VIA has some experience with this, going through a strike of its own this summer.)

At GO Transit in Toronto, it's not as clear if there will be disruptions (and there's nothing on the homepage), but the status page (updated regularly even on weekend afternoons) makes it clear the service is still running normally.

As for CN itself, the homepage makes it look like nothing's wrong at first, but under "news releases" there's mention of the strike, and the "state of the railroad" page has a few details about what's going on.

I realize nobody likes to work weekends, and those who do can't change the elaborate web page design that the boss's nephew was paid lots of money to put together, but when engineers go on strike, we don't care about your new train cars or how you're fighting for the environment. We want to know what's going on.

Related Posts

• Free Press dispute gets nasty
• Gazette staff start byline strike
• Freelancers unite?
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Students now have until Nov. 15 (which I guess means they can buy their November passes but they can't use them past that date?)

The STM says it is buying ads on Facebook to reach many of those students and remind them of this weird new policy.

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit
• Opus subscription comes with guarantee
• 2009-10 guide to holiday transit

Among them is sponsoring free passage on all Montreal transit networks on Tuesday, which is the AMT's car-free day (in case you haven't paid attention to the news, that means a few blocks of downtown will be closed between the two rush hours, providing minimal disruption to commuting traffic).

To take advantage of free transit, people have only to clip the coupons that appeared in major newspapers, or download one from Loto-Québec's website (from a PDF so compressed the fine print is illegible).

This might be of little use to people who already have monthly passes, but because this also applies to RTL, STL and AMT transit, it means you can freely travel on commuter trains and on off-island transit networks. Want to take a trip to Carrefour Laval? Dix-30? Or just take the comfortable train to the West Island after work? Might as well take advantage.

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• AMT acted quickly, but they can do more
• AMT allows bicycles on more trains
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit

First edition of La Page AMT, August 26, 2009

The Agence métropolitaine de transport has announced that, starting Wednesday, it will be communicating with customers via a page in the free daily 24 Heures once a week. The first such page, announcing their new train cars, is available as a PDF. It appears on Page 12 of Wednesday's edition.

If this idea sounds eerily similar to the Info STM page in Metro, it's no coincidence. It all goes back to how these two newspapers got started.

A tale of two free commuter dailies

Metro began publication on March 1, 2001, a partnership between Swedish-based Metro and Montreal-based Transcontinental. A key part of the business plan for this newspaper was a deal it struck with the Société de transport de Montréal (then the Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de Montréal or STCUM). In exchange for exclusive distribution inside the metro system, the newspaper would give 2% of its advertising revenues (guaranteed at $900,000 for the first three years) to the transit agency. It would also give a free page in every issue to the STM so it could more easily offer information to metro users.

Before Metro's first issue went out the door, Quebecor Media launched a campaign against the deal. Cease-and-desist letters went out to both the STM and Metro, followed by a lawsuit. Even a letter from former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, a member of Quebecor's board of directors. Quebecor's argument was that a restriction against other newspapers distributing freely in the metro was a violation of its right to free expression.

The lawsuit was rejected in 2003, and in 2005 the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal. (A similar lawsuit happened in Philadelphia against Metro, and it too ended up losing in court.) Quebecor was clearly not going to win this battle in court.

24 Heures from four years ago (Aug. 26, 2005)

24 Heures, Quebecor's answer to Metro, was launched as Montréal Métropolitain less than two weeks after Metro began distribution. Because of the agreement between Metro and the STM, the paper is distributed outside metro stations. And because of Montreal's ban on newspaper distribution boxes, the company has to hire people to actually hand copies out to commuters. Without a distribution system in the metro, 24 Heures suffered, and constantly lags behind Metro in circulation figures.

At some point since its launch, 24 Heures decided to focus more on places Metro doesn't distribute (which is basically everywhere outside the metro). One of those places is commuter train stations, where you'll find yellow 24 Heures boxes but no Metro.

So it makes sense that the AMT and 24 Heures team up with this page.

What's unclear is whether the AMT is paying 24 Heures for this page, or whether it's being offered as part of an agreement with the AMT. I've asked the AMT about it, and will update this post with what they say.

La Page AMT will be published every Wednesday in 24 Heures starting August 26. 24 Heures is available in virtual format free online.

Related Posts

• Goodbye Métro, hello 24 Heures
• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• Quebecor doesn’t inform when it doesn’t feel like it
• Métro turns 10

Among them:

• Unveiling the first of 160 new double-decker train cars being built at Bombardier's La Pocatière plant. The AMT calls these cars "historic", which may be pushing it a bit, but they are high-capacity and will work on all five lines (meaning they'll work with diesel locomotives and electrified lines). It's unclear if these cars will be used in addition to or in replacement of the existing rolling stock. While passenger cars on the three diesel lines look like they were rescued out of a trash bin, the cars on the Deux-Montagnes line are less than 20 years old.
• After announcing in July that children under 12 would be able to ride free during the summer if accompanied by an adult, the AMT has decided to make this deal permanent. Children 6-11 without adult supervision still have to present valid fares, but those with parents (or, I guess, who can charm adult strangers into saying they're their parents) get to ride free.
• The AMT is now allowing users to charge TRAM passes for zones 4-8 using automatic Opus machines. Before, they were limited to zones 1-3. Note however that the STM machines (those in metro stations) won't allow this, and that many users in zones 6-8 still can't use Opus cards because the technology hasn't been implemented on buses on some transit networks.
• People using the Dorion/Rigaud line might be annoyed with the temporary use of cars without low-level doors. This will affect trains running Monday-Friday outside of the rush hour direction, and will be particularly annoying for people who use the Dorion or Ile Perrot train stations, as they'll have limited points of entry and exit.
• There won't be service between Vaudreuil and Dorion on Saturday, Aug. 29 before 6pm.
• The AMT's Express Île des Soeurs schedule is being changed. Same number of departures at about the same times, but shifted up to 10 minutes in either direction.

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• AMT acted quickly, but they can do more
• AMT allows bicycles on more trains
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit

Buried in the release is that this only applies to July and August (though The Gazette reports they might consider making it permanent). Children 6-11 who aren't accompanied by an adult still have to pay their fare (and have to get an Opus card to take advantage of reduced fare).

Children who already have a pass for July can get a refund.

The move not only encourages family outings on public transit (the STM has a similar program for kids under 12 on weekends and holidays), but means a lot of kids won't have to worry about getting Opus cards (under the pre-Opus system, only those age 13 and up needed student ID) until they start school in the fall.

The STL in Laval has a similar system in place for the summer.

Related Posts

• AMT allows bicycles on more trains
• AMT to study full electrification of commuter trains
• LaSalle’s tiny platform comes back to life
• AMT gives back … with coupons
• AMT announces additional service on four train lines

• 70 Bois-Franc gets a significant boost in service to complete its schedule. Service now extends to midnight, seven days a week (before it ended about 7pm), and intervals during rush hour drop from 30 to 15 minutes in both directions.
• 119 Rockland adds Sunday service in both directions. Previously it was a Monday-to-Saturday bus.
• 164 Dudemaine's western terminus is extended by two blocks, ending at Steinberg St. instead of Bois-Franc, to serve an area the STM considered to have inadequate service.
• 174 Côte-Vertu Ouest gets midday service on weekdays at half-hour intervals, as well as four new departures in the evening, extending its service from 6pm to 8pm.
• 209 Des Sources now stops at the Trudeau Airport via the Dorval train station.
• 210 John Abbott adds a stop inside the Kirkland shopping centre that includes the Colisée, for all the John Abbott students who want to watch a movie after school (or instead of?). The STM cites safety as a reason for this stop, which replaces one at Jean-Yves and the service road.
• 219 Chemin Sainte-Marie gets the same modification, but only in the westbound direction.
• 361 Saint-Denis moves to a summer schedule with more departures, particularly on Sunday nights when intervals drop from 45 minutes to 30.
• 515 Vieux-Montréal-Vieux-Port takes on a summer schedule, which reduces wait times from 20 minutes, seven days a week to 13 minutes on weekdays and 10 minutes on weekends.

UPDATE: The Gazette has a story on the changes based off the STM press releases. Both misspell "Bois-Franc".

Meanwhile, the AMT is reducing service on the new schedule for its Nuns' Island express bus, increasing intervals from 20 minutes to 30. Mitigating this news somewhat is that the STM has just approved a new bus route, probably to take effect in the fall, connecting Nuns' Island with the LaSalle metro station.

Related Posts

• Nuns’ Island hates public transit
• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• STM to renumber bus routes in January
• STM’s night bus overhaul increases service by 73%

Does this picture send you into an uncontrollable fit of rage? Tell it to the Man!

After lots of promises to setup public meetings so it could actually converse with its users, the Agence métropolitaine de transport held its first one on Tuesday night in Baie d'Urfé. There came the mini-announcement that the agence is planning to have text-message alerts of delayed trains and real-time updates on arrival times at train stations.

The AMT meets the public again next Tuesday, this time to hear about the Deux Montagnes train line. The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. in the building across the street from the Sunnybrooke train station.

Related Posts

• Fagstein’s 2011-12 guide to holiday transit
• Transit fares for 2012
• AMT acted quickly, but they can do more
• AMT allows bicycles on more trains
• Fagstein’s 2010-11 guide to holiday transit

Not only are the AMT's diesel locomotives old and noisy, but they pollute.

The Agence métropolitaine de transport on Tuesday launched a call for tenders on a feasibility study for full electrification of the commuter train network. So far only the Deux-Montagnes line uses electric power (and it uses it exclusively).

CJAD (who I guess read La Presse this morning) quotes the AMT's Joel Gauthier saying the process would take 15 years to complete. This is a decade faster than he predicted last year in an interview with the Hudson Gazette. The Gazette gets a figure of $300 million from an AMT document submitted in December.

The AMT is acquiring 20 dual-mode (diesel/electric) trains which will serve on its Train de l'Est. That route uses the Mount Royal tunnel, which prohibits diesel locomotion because it is not ventilated and everyone would, you know, die.

Electrifying the other four routes would cut down on pollution, cost and noise, which would no doubt satisfy this family who apparently have just realized that they live next to a century-old railway.

Of course, since AMT doesn't actually own those tracks (they're owned by CN and CP), this process certainly still has a way to go before anyone starts putting up wires.

Related Posts

• AMT allows bicycles on more trains
• AMT lets kids under 12 ride free*
• LaSalle’s tiny platform comes back to life
• AMT gives back … with coupons
• AMT announces additional service on four train lines

This tiny platform at the LaSalle commuter train station, which has sat unused in favour of its longer twin on the other side, is coming back to life on Monday because of work being done on the track. That means train users will have to figure out which car to be in (much like they have to do on the Saint-Hilaire line because of the length of its platforms).

Toward Montreal, the platform will line up with the tail of the train. Toward Delson/Candiac, it will line up with the head.

Related Posts

• AMT allows bicycles on more trains
• AMT lets kids under 12 ride free*
• AMT to study full electrification of commuter trains
• AMT gives back … with coupons
• AMT announces additional service on four train lines