Route of the 21 Place du Commerce (in blue)
The STM has released fall schedules for its bus network, which take effect on Aug. 31. Two significant changes are worth noting:
- The creation of the new 21 Place du Commerce, which provides one-way morning-only service from the LaSalle métro station to the Place du Commerce and Bell campus on Nuns’ Island. The idea is apparently to provide quicker access from Verdun to the Bell campus in the busy morning rush hour. Workers presumably have more time in the afternoon rush and can take the 12 bus like everyone else.
- The 209 Des Sources bus, which you’ll recall is now an all-day bus (Monday-Friday only) has been extended to the terminal at Dorval Airport. This helps with a big complaint from users who before would have to wait up to half an hour at the Dorval train station because the only bus to the airport was the infrequent 204. (This extension was on the summer schedule for the 209, but for some reason is only being announced now.)
A minor change (I’m sure there are others): the 350 Verdun/LaSalle night bus now ends at Newman and Airlie instead of the Monette-Lafleur terminus.
Proof-of-payment system
According to the schedule set in May, the STM is supposed to move to a proof-of-payment system starting Sept. 1. This means that you must carry your Opus card or ticket with you at all times in the metro system or on buses, otherwise you can be fined. (I assume there will be a grace/warning period before any actual fines are given in this way.)
New map
If you haven’t seen it yet, the new 2009 system map (WARNING: 10MB PDF file) currently being installed in metro stations is more colourful than previous versions. Among the changes, dated June 22: “rapid transit” routes (express and reserved-lane buses) are shown in green, and Monday-to-Friday-all-day buses are given their own category in the legend, separate from seven-day routes and rush-hour-only routes.
Open house
And while I have your attention, the STM is having an open house at its Legendre garage in Ahuntsic on Sunday, Sept. 13. Registration and the tour are free, and there are shuttle buses from the Crémazie metro station that will bring you there, since there’s no parking on site.
Will the 209 des Sources bus to the airport also make a stop at the bus terminus in Dorval? The rare buses to the airport are also a problem for us cheapos who travel to the airport by bus (including skint travellers but also people who work at the airport). During the extended rush hour, the easiest way for Steve or for me is the bus parallel to the 40 that has a stop just outside the FTQ complex at Crémazie métro.
Yes, the 209 goes through Dorval to the bus terminus and then to the airport. The airport becomes the new terminus, but the rest of the route is unchanged.
That’s great. Of course, it should have happened years ago and there should be a constant shuttling between the bus and rail terminus and the adjacent airport, but that would require common sense.
Hope that Bell’s picking up the tab for the bus that’s now needed to get their employees to work.
Bell is shouldering some of the costs for these new services. But Bell employees are paying for transit just like the rest of us.
For now, the quickest way I found to get to the airport by transit is to use the Vaudreuil train to Dorval, walk across Cardinal avenue and follow the short dirt path to the airport’s parking, where I hop on the frequent, free parking shuttle – there’s one every 10 minutes or so, or better. In all, I only need to walk 200m, and don’t depend on the 204 bus (its schedule is never coordinated with the train’s. I always end up missing it by a minute or two). Technically I’m sure it’s not allowed, but how could they tell if I came from the train station or my parked car anyway?
A couple of weeks ago I had to get to the airport at rush hour: in all, it took me 35 minutes to get to the airport from my office downtown office using the train / parking shuttle combo.
Here’s a map that illustrates my itinerary
http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=45.450528,-73.742638&spn=0.003831,0.009624&t=h&z=17&msid=110397704530156282681.000471f8efdaa4d32cf52
Whenever I go to the airport at rush-hour, I, too, take the train; I have considered using the parking shuttle bus, but the 1 km walk to the airport from the train station is not too rebarbative, and it’s somewhat fun to have the planes buzz above your head and as you walk up the ramp to the departure lounge, with a bit of imagination, you can try to recreate the magic of air travel in the 60’s…
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About open houses, the CUTA is holding it’s conference in Montréal this fall, and the STM will be conducting tours of some never-opened facilities.
Regarding the Proof of Payment system.
This was being done in the Paris metro system years ago, calling them “control points”.
The Metro security guards there are pretty polite, only ask to see your card/ticket stub, and let you pass.
They are usually hidden in tunnels and whatnot, as you are making your way from one end of a station to the
other (the metro stations there being considerably bigger than the ones in Montreal).
Sure, it could be annoying during rush hour, but I can understand the motivation behind it, as long
as those performing these checkpoints are courteous, respectful, and don’t powertrip (one can dream) too much
in the course of their work.
Then again, I drive to work and don’t really give a shit about our inefficient transit system.
(when are we going to have air conditionned buses and metros for the suit wearing crowd amongst us?
What about seats that fit normal sized people in the bus? What about being one time)?
I dread the day I have to depend on public transit again.
They have a proof of payment and inspection system on commuter trains in Montreal. But there are some significant differences between the commuter trains and the metro. For one, the trains stop less often and give people fewer chances to escape. For another, the commuter trains’ clientele tends to be middle-class suburban workers who won’t try.
As it happens, the original 198x ish Deux-Montagnes modernization report said about the then current fare collection system (passengers put tickets in fareboxes at some station entrances) that fare evaders could come in the stations through other entrances, but “the fact that other paying passengers look at them strangely is dissuative enough”… :) :) :)
Ahhh, the innocent old times…