Behind The Curtain (31 March, 2023)
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Do You Have A Moment To Talk About Your Local Transit System?
Montreal’s transit system is a world of wonder. No, it’s not as efficient as New York’s, not even close. There you can take a train across a bridge at 2:30am and the locals complain you may have to wait on the platform for 20 minutes for it to arrive. It’s not free, as public transit systems are in certain Scandinavian countries, though it really should be (and I can go on and on about that one - I have before and will again). Rather, it is a place where the best route for you isn’t always the one suggested in Google Maps or the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) website. It’s a world where things that should be easily answered just plain aren’t. It is a land of perpetual discovery.
You’re going to need a guide, but not just any guide. One who has been navigating through the maze that is Montreal’s transit infrastructure their whole life. One who has an affinity for the kind of trivia that is seemingly useless until it isn’t. You’ll need a Montreal transit aficionado. Enter Jason C. McLean. I’m a proud member of the BMW set (Bus, Metro, Walk) and have lived in multiple neighborhoods in this city. I am also fascinated by transit knowledge and love to share that knowledge (whether people want to hear it or not).
So, with that in mind, I have decided to use my powers for good instead of trying to sound cool at parties. This will help new Montrealers and maybe a few lifelong inhabitants too. Not to mention people (like our Creative Director) who live in the Sovereign Republic of Le Plateau, where everything is within walking distance and there is rarely a reason to leave. Don’t get me wrong, I lived both there and in Mile End for over a decade. Did you think this site was started in NDG? In fact it was. I mean I lived in the Plateau at the time, but I digress. Now please join me as I take you behind the curtain of Montreal’s transit system (see Andrew, I said the name of the thing in the thing).
Photo Courtesy of Société de Transport de Montréal
Slowing Down Before Berri-UQAM
We’ll start with a question, courtesy of our Editor-In-Chief, Dawn McSweeney: “Why does the metro slow down when approaching Berri-UQAM?”
Well, Dawn (and everyone else who might be wondering the same thing), I searched for the answer online and even found a thread on Reddit discussing it, and speculating that it had something to do with older tracks and the new Azur trains, but nothing concrete. So I asked the STM directly.
According to Justine Lord-Dufour of STM Public Affairs: “Trains traveling from Champ-de-Mars to Berri-UQAM must slow down due to the presence of switches and crossings on the rails which, combined with the curve, force us to reduce the speed setpoint.” I wondered if this was temporary, and according to Lord-Dufour, “it will always be the case”.
Getting the most out of the Montreal transit system isn’t always about questioning things that are out of the ordinary. Sometimes it involves looking for alternatives to things that already work and make sense.
Hidden Gem: The 138 NDG
Let’s say you’re in the westernmost part of Downtown, close to, or on, Atwater, and you want to visit a friend who lives in NDG on Oxford (or any nearby street) just north of Sherbrooke. Logic may tell you to take the Metro Green Line from Atwater to Lionel-Groulx, then transfer to the Orange Line and ride it for two stops to Vendome, then take the 105 West. This route will get you there, and if you make all of your connections right away, it could be quick, But there is a better option: the 138 West. You board this bus across from Atwater Metro and disembark at Côte-Saint-Antoine and Oxford, which is one street north of Sherbrooke. Then it’s just a quick walk to your destination. If you’re going anywhere between Hingston and Madison, the bus stops on Sherbrooke itself, before taking a quick detour a block south to head up Cavendish. It goes all the way to Cote-St-Luc, btw, so it’s also an alternative to the 104 for people heading from Downtown to northwestern NDG.
This is a direct route with no transfers and it avoids the longest distance between two metro stops on the Island of Montreal: Place St-Henri to Vendome. Plus there is very little chance of being crowded. The 105, on the other hand, is (in)famous for packing people in like sardines and leaving when full, not letting anyone else board. This is even more apparent with morning commuters heading from NDG to Downtown, where I’ve heard reports of three full 105s passing stops in a row. The 138 does head east primarily along NDG Boulevard, which is a full street north of Côte-Saint-Antoine, but if you live close enough to Cavendish, I recommend it over the 105/metro combo. That is if you check the schedule and plan accordingly. Admittedly the 138 comes only every 30-40 minutes, even at peak hours, and stops around 8pm on weekends.
Surprising Benefits: The 97 and 368 Mont-Royal
Sometimes major, popular routes could offer a leisurely ride or take you to places you didn’t think they would. Such is the case with the 97 Mont-Royal and its night bus equivalent the 368.
If you find yourself near the Olympic Stadium (as I did for six months for work), and you want to go to the Mountain, how do you get there? Logic tells you, along with the apps, that the quickest way is to take the Metro Green Line from Pie-IX to Place-Des-Arts and then an 80 or 129 bus north. They’re right, that is the quickest way. But what if it’s rush hour and you just want to sit down and not be crowded? Well, then, may I suggest the 97 West. It starts at Pie-IX Metro and its terminus is the corner of du Parc and Mont-Royal (ie. the Mountain). It weaves its way through lower Rosemont with hardly any passengers. It does get a bit packed at the end, when it hits Mont-Royal Avenue for the last time, but by then, you’ve already been chilling in your seat, listening to a podcast or some music, for quite some time.
Several years ago, when I lived on Villeneuve and Jeanne-Mance, near du Parc, a friend was visiting. It was late and he needed to get home to the Snowdon area. I searched, seemingly in vain, for a quick and painless route. Sure, the 51 did it, but there was no night bus equivalent. Then I stumbled upon what seemed like a miracle. A magical night bus that stopped at du Parc and Villeneuve, went through Mile End to Bernard, passed Outremont Metro, did the 129 route a bit, then the 51 and dropped my friend off at his corner. I later found out that this was the 368, the Mont-Royal bus. It started at Frontenac Metro and weaved its way to Côte-Vertu Metro. I like to imagine what that planning meeting must have been like at STM HQ: “You know what we need? A bus that connects southeastern Downtown to Ville St-Laurent at 3am! Maybe have it stop by the Oratory.” But there it was, and here it still is. The route looks pretty much the same, so hopefully it can be the miracle bus for someone reading this as it was for my friend many moons ago.
So Much More To Explore
While I have used my knowledge and even some trivia, I have just scratched the surface and haven’t even asked any questions yet. So tell me this: What is the deepest platform in the Montreal Metro system? Share this post on social media along with your answers, tag @forgetthebox and you will win a prize (Editor’s Note: You will NOT win a prize, but please do share our content). Also, I’m sure I will revisit this topic again, so if you have any Montreal transit-related questions, please send them to jason@forgetthebox.ca I’m not an advice columnist, but as your resident Montreal Transit Aficionado, I’ll do my best to answer them (Editor’s Note: This one’s legit).
Until then:
FTB Founder Jason C. McLean will return every Friday for another installment in his series, Behind The Curtain.
