Estrie will finally be connected to the Réseau express métropolitain (REM). Three daily bus trips will leave Sherbrooke, via Bromont and Magog, to reach the light rail. The reverse route will also benefit from three departures each day.
It is the intercity operator Transdev, this French multinational specializing in mobility which owns Limocar, a fleet of coaches already serving the link between Sherbrooke and Montreal, which will ensure the connection.
However, it seems that no stop will serve the town of Granby, which was initially mentioned. However, these six new daily departures, to and from the Brossard REM station, are in addition to some 24 trips already in place each day. Moreover, on weekends, the trips from Sherbrooke to the DIX30 already offered by Transdev will continue.
A number of discussions had taken place in recent months regarding a direct service between Estrie and the REM, in particular with the Société de transport de Sherbrooke (STS).
“As long as it is well established, the REM will necessarily seek to optimize the number of passengers. And I think we are part of the solution,” its president, Marc Denault, said in August.
To encourage users to test this new service, a 20% discount will be offered between 1er and December 31, 2023 on the purchase of the first ticket online, using the promo code “Jabord”. So it will cost you a little less than $26, instead of $32.30.
The vice-president for Quebec and the Maritimes of Transdev, Émile Cadieux, affirms that “the announcement of the creation of this new bus line last spring aroused great enthusiasm on the part of the groups we consulted” . “We are happy today to announce to them that it is now done,” he said on Friday.
On X, the Minister of Transport Geneviève Guilbault spoke of “excellent news for the citizens of Estrie and Montérégie”.