By the end of June, the trains of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) will carry their first passengers between Brossard stations and Central Station in downtown Montreal. Expected for years, this new high-frequency service, which will be delivered in phases over the next few years, risks changing the portrait of mobility in the city. But will it encourage motorists to give up their cars? For now, many questions remain.
The arrival of the REM causes a commotion in the territories it will cross. Given the exclusivity held by the REM for access to the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge, the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) had to thoroughly review its bus routes in order to fold 29 of its lines towards three Brossard stations: Panama, Du Quartier and Brossard. Public transit users who, in some cases, boarded a bus that took them directly to downtown Montreal will now have to transfer to a REM station.
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) has also begun to review its bus routes, first in L’Île-des-Soeurs — where 60% of trips are currently made by car — in order to connect them to the new REM station.
All new, all beautiful
Will public transit users be there and will they see benefits when the REM arrives? Axel Fournier, spokesperson for the Association pour le transport collective de la Rive-Sud (ATCRS), believes so. “I expect there to be an increase in ridership from the first day the REM comes into operation. People will be curious and will want to try it, both motorists and public transit users,” he says, while acknowledging that public transit users will have no choice but to opt for the REM.
According to him, despite the mandatory transfer to the REM, the vast majority of public transit users should benefit from time savings or equal time. What is likely to add to the attractiveness of the service is the great frequency of the REM, with passages every 3.5 minutes during peak periods, and every 7.5 minutes during off-peak periods, reports- he. “The bus arrives, we board the REM and there is no risk that there will be a traffic event or a blockage in the reserved lane. »
Personally, I expect there to be an increase in ridership from the first day the REM comes into operation. People will be curious and will want to try it, both motorists and public transport users.
Eventually, the REM service will gradually extend, with a connection to the McGill metro station and, thereafter, to the West Island of Montreal, Deux-Montagnes and the Montreal-Trudeau airport. , which will increase the attractiveness of this service, he recalls.
Reliable service?
The REM is not immune to breakdowns and the vagaries of the weather, but only time can confirm the reliability of the service. CDPQ Infra, the subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) which is piloting the project, has in fact twice postponed the commissioning of the REM in order to conduct tests on the reliability of REM components and prepare employees to various eventualities, such as elevator breakdowns, non-functional screens and power supply problems.
The reliability of the REM will also be a major point in determining its success, believes François Pepin, member of the board of directors of Trajectoire Québec. “The quality of the first experience is very important,” he says.
However, he says he is confident that public transit users will benefit from it, the RTL having redesigned its network. The fact remains that, according to him, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) and CDPQ Infra will have a communication challenge to overcome on the issue of pricing, particularly with regard to users who will use the REM in the Brossard territory. without going to Montreal, but who will still have to pay the fare for zones A and B.
The case of motorists
In 2017, the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) filed a very critical report on the REM project. The stewards expressed doubts about the REM’s ability to encourage motorists to abandon their cars. Thus, it was pointed out, the forecasts reported a modal transfer from the automobile to the REM limited to 10% during the morning rush hour for the four branches of the network. And the stewards noted that about 80% of these motorists would still travel by car to the stations.
François Pepin is of the opinion that the omnipresence of orange cones in Montreal and the difficult traffic in downtown Montreal should convince some motorists to give up their cars. “There is the price of parking, the price of gas and the work downtown. If motorists try the REM and find that it’s much easier, they might adopt it. »
For his part, Axel Fournier does not expect motorists to give up motorized transport right away. “They’re going to start by trying the REM in the context of a night out or a weekend event,” he says. When they get used to the new system, they might like it. »
“It’s anxiety-provoking to board a public transport system that you don’t know,” he recalls. High REM frequency throughout the day will reduce user anxiety. But they have to use it to appropriate it. »
He even anticipates that interest in REM will continue beyond initial curiosity. “We must not forget the context of the work in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel which means that there is a lot of pressure on the bridges at the moment. And the REM will probably be easier to access for a good part of the population than the Longueuil metro, further east. »
Professor at the Faculty of Planning at the Université de Montréal, Jean-Philippe Meloche does not believe that the modal transfer from the car to the REM will take place the day after the REM is put into service, but rather in a progressive. “People who would otherwise have had to take their car will choose to live in an area that is well served by the REM,” he explains. So, in the long term, those who intended to leave their car to take the REM will probably move [dans les zones bien desservies par le REM] before doing so. »
Despite the pandemic and telecommuting, CDPQ Infra is maintaining its ridership forecasts established in 2016 for the REM, i.e. 60,000 passengers per day, by focusing on the real estate development around the stations, which is greater than anticipated.
The REM line that connects Brossard to Central Station will include five stations. Ultimately, the REM will have 26 stations with a network extending over 67 kilometres. The cost of the project was estimated at $6.9 billion, but last October, CDPQ Infra warned that the bill could increase.