Aware of the major “change in habits” represented by the addition of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) to the organization of public transport in the region, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) and CDPQ Infra presented various measures on Monday to facilitate the transition, including an “open house” operation on the weekend preceding the commissioning of the new network, on July 31.
“Who says new transport network says, and we are well aware of it, change of habits”, acknowledged the spokesperson for CDPQ Infra, Jean-Vincent Lacroix, at a press conference.
Guessing that many of the general public will want to discover this new, fully automated metro, CDPQ Infra has planned an open house on Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Access to the REM will then be free, announced Quebec. The public will be able to use the network from its first five stations, from Montreal Central Station to Brossard, on the South Shore, via Île-des-Sœurs, Panama and Du Quartier.
Visitors will thus be able to familiarize themselves with the load indicators placed at the top of the doors leading to the platforms, the color of which announces the number of cars on the next train.
“When it’s orange, there won’t be a seat, but I’ll be able to stand up properly. Green I have more space and red, it’s starting to be tight, ”summed up Mr. Lacroix at the Gare Centrale station on Monday.
From a fare perspective, “users using the REM will have to obtain an all-mode fare, both for the territory of the Island of Montreal and for the South Shore approach,” emphasized the Senior Director, Relations with partners, from the ARTM, Philippe Dubé.
“It’s the same thing in the suburbs where users will be able to benefit from all ABC and ABCD modes to use the bus service in feeder mode at the REM, and then use the REM to get to their destination. »
An exception will however be made on the day of entry into service, July 31. “Because it’s the end of the month, we accept the monthly Bus pass in the REM, but the next day on the 1er August, the user will have to obtain the correct title. »
The ARTM suggests that users consult its online title selector.
Starting July 31, the express bus lines of the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) and exo that previously went directly to downtown Montreal will stop at a REM station on the South Shore. so that passengers can continue on this new network.
About 10,000 people currently take a direct bus route between RTL territory and downtown Montreal, the RTL estimates.
Although the addition of a connection is “penalizing in a customer journey”, the travel time for the majority of users “should be the same or improved, including the connection time,” said Mr. Dubé.
As of August 21, the RTL will deploy its new lines redesigned according to the REM, to allow passengers to adjust before the start of the school year.
Only its 742 bus line will continue to cross the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge during the REM’s first month of service, at the rate of the new network.
This 742 will stop at REM stations on the South Shore (Brossard, Du Quartier, Panama) as well as at the Chevrier incentive parking lot, before heading to downtown Montreal via the Samuel-De Champlain bridge.
Departures will be every 15 minutes during peak hours, and every 30 minutes off peak and on weekends, in both directions.
Although REM trains run without a driver, customer service employees sporting bright green jackets will be present in the stations and cars.