Transit authority is harmonizing the cost of taking the bus, Metro, Exo and REM
The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), which oversees planning of public transit throughout the Montreal region, hopes do dispel confusion over transit fares by this summer with the introduction of a new system harmonizing the payment structure regardless of your point of origin or where you are headed.
Single fare stays at $3.50
The new fare system, which includes the REM electric train network which is scheduled to open in phases in the next few years, will be based on four zones (ABCD), covering the metropolitan Montreal region. Beginning on July 1, transit users travelling on the island of Montreal, or within Laval or other designated regions, will pay a flat $3.50 per fare whether they are taking the bus, Metro, Exo train or the REM (when it becomes available).
The price of a single fare in all the zones (including Montreal, Laval and Longueuil) will remain as it is now at $3.50. What is changing in the way the ARTM will be charging for public transit is that riders will pay primarily on a per-region basis, rather than on what mode of transit they take. The fare structure will be the same for users everywhere, including Laval, as long as they are travelling within their own region.
ARTM regions ABCD
“The tariff restructuring has already made life easier for a good number of people, although this year it will prove to be even more effective at a time when we all need it,” Benoit Gendron, general manager of the ARTM, said during a briefing for the media last week.
The four fare regions are as follows: A: Montreal. B: Laval, Longueuil, Brossard, Boucherville and St-Bruno-de-Montarville. C: North and South shores within the ARTM’s territory. D: Areas outside ARTM territory.
‘The tariff restructuring has already made life easier for a good number of people,’ says ARTM general manager Benoit Gendron
Transit fares and passes, which will continue to be uploaded onto Opus user cards, will be available for those wishing only to travel within their regional zone, or they can purchase a pass combining two or more regions, such as an AB pass to be able to travel in Laval and on the island of Montreal.
Some examples of new fares
A regular monthly pass for all modes of transit on the island of Montreal will cost commuters $94 a month beginning on July 1, with travel outside this zone costing extra. A single fare to travel between zones B (Laval) and A (Montreal) will cost $5.25 and the cost of a monthly pass will be $150. Zone C will cover the greater Montreal region’s North Shore and South Shore.
A single fare allowing travel between Zones A, B and C will cost $6.50 and a monthly pass will be $184. The ABCD monthly pass, allowing travel anywhere within the Montreal metropolitan region, will cost $255. A single fare in the ABCD zone will be $9, compared to $18.25 now to take a regional bus, a train and then use the Société de transport de Montréal on Montreal Island.
Savings for Laval users
The ARTM’s restructured fare system offers savings for occasional users of the STM who live in areas such as Laval (Zone B). As it is now, Laval residents pay a $7 single fare to take the bus from their region, then transfer to an STM bus or to the Metro.
Also under the new system, the cost of a Société de transport de Laval monthly bus pass will rise from $101.00, as it is now, to $105.00 beginning on July 1.
The ARTM will be holding public information sessions on the new fare system on May 24 and 25. A comprehensive list of the ARTM’s fare changes can be found on the transit authority’s website: https://www.artm.quebec/en/fare-reform.
