The Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) will devote nearly $7 million, for next summer alone, to the creation of a “network” of six river shuttles that will connect the Old Port of Montreal to Boucherville, to Longueuil , Île Sainte-Hélène and the Pointe-aux-Trembles sector (PAT), in the east of the city.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Two of these shuttles will connect the wharf in Parc de la Promenade-Bellerive, in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, to Île Charron, just opposite, and to Boucherville. This Bellerive–Boucherville shuttle, created “as part of the mitigation measures for the work on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel”, will be in service until October, i.e. one month longer than the others, and will be in daily operation later than the others.
According to the tender document, the ARTM will create a special transport ticket for river shuttles. It will therefore no longer be possible to access it with an ordinary ticket. The cost of this ARTM pass is not known, but the price of a ticket purchased at the boarding platform will be $5.50 per passage, for all routes. The owner of the boat must provide access to a platform where users can reserve their places up to seven days in advance.
MAP PROVIDED BY THE REGIONAL METROPOLITAN TRANSPORT AUTHORITY
River connections
No new infrastructure will be built to support this network. The connections will be made between existing boarding quays, including the Jacques-Cartier quay, in the Old Port, and that of the Promenade-Bellerive park.
The two connections to Boucherville will dock at the local municipal wharf, visitors to Île Sainte-Hélène will disembark at the Parc Jean-Drapeau wharf, and Montreal’s Les Chaloupiers wharf will serve as a port in PAT.
Boats must have a minimum of 45 seats, except those serving Longueuil and Île Sainte-Hélène, which must contain at least 80. They must also be equipped with “safe racks for mooring bicycles on board, a minimum of 15% of the capacity of the boats”. This corresponds to 3 bicycles per 20 passengers.
The ARTM specifies that it “will use the services of third parties” to visit the boats once a week.
Five undisputed lots
In addition to mandating the ARTM to create new river connections, the Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ) orders it to take over services formerly funded by municipalities. This is the case for the link from the Old Port towards Île Sainte-Hélène and Longueuil, and the crossing between Promenade-Bellerive and Île Charron, which the former administration of the City of Longueuil had refused to renew in 2021 for cost reasons.
Two new links will be created to Boucherville, and the ARTM will renew the link between the Old Port and the Pointe-aux-Trembles sector, a project that was already dear to former borough mayor Chantal Rouleau for years before she became Minister Delegate for Transport and responsible for the Metropolis.
The ARTM call for tenders, closed since March 11, was divided into five lots, one of which included the shuttles from Île Sainte-Hélène and Longueuil. None of the lots was contested, according to the bid opening results available on the Quebec electronic tendering site (SEAO).
Navettes maritimes du Saint-Laurent, a company of the AML Group, submitted an offer of nearly 1.5 million to take over the service it provided between the Old Port, Île Sainte-Hélène and Longueuil, in 2019. Navark Cruises was the only company to submit bids for the other four routes, which total just over $5.3 million.
If the ARTM were to award the contracts at the prices submitted by the two cruise lines, the bill would amount to a total of $6,765,507 for the period from June to October.
Planned routes and times
1. Old Port–Pointe-aux-Trembles (PAT)
From June 4 to September 18, 7 days a week
Departures every 45 minutes from PAT to the Old Port, from 7 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Departures in the opposite direction from 7:45 a.m. to 6:15 p.m.
Additional services on Friday and Saturday evenings, from 7 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.
Additional services on Saturday and Sunday from September 24 to October 16
2. Old Port–Boucherville
From June 4 to September 18, 7 days a week
Departures every 45 minutes from Boucherville to the Old Port, from 6:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Departures in the opposite direction from 7:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.
Additional services on Friday and Saturday evenings, from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m.
3A. Old Port–Sainte-Hélène Island–Longueuil
From June 4 to September 18, 7 days a week
Departures every 60 minutes from the Old Port, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Service continues continuously between the three destinations until 7:50 p.m.
Additional services* on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, from 8 p.m. to 10:50 p.m.
3B. Old Port–Sainte-Helene Island
From June 18 to September 5, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only
Departures every 60 minutes from the Old Port, from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.*. Departures in the opposite direction from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.*.
* The call for tenders specifies that a “validation of the technical feasibility of navigation must be carried out” to confirm these routes on the evenings of the International Loto-Québec fireworks.
4. Promenade-Bellerive–Charron Island (Longueuil)
From June 24 to September 5, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays only
Departures every 60 minutes from the Promenade-Bellerive, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Departures in the opposite direction, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
5. Promenade-Bellerive–Boucherville
From June 6 to October 14, 7 days a week
Departures every 45 minutes from Boucherville to Promenade-Bellerive, from 5:45 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Departures every 45 minutes in the opposite direction, from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Source: public call for tenders, ARTM
Learn more
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- 36,834
- Number of passengers on the PAT–Vieux-Port shuttle between July 3 and September 6, 2021
Source: ARTM
- 108,939
- Number of passengers on the Vieux-Port–île Sainte-Hélène–Longueuil shuttle between May 18 and October 14, 2019
Source: ARTM