Bus Rapid Service (SRB) is finally becoming a reality. About fifteen stations in this corridor of 11 kilometers of reserved bus lanes will be operational from Monday. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) estimates that it can offer a bus ride 30% faster than before.
Posted at 11:30am
Henri Ouellette-Vézina La Presse
At the beginning of October, the STM had announced with great fanfare that the SRB Pie-IX would enter service “in stages” from November 7th. This huge project has been under construction since 2019.
“Our goal is to maximize the commercial speed of the buses, with the stations being further apart than normal. And the reserved lanes in the middle will be less affected by vehicles turning right on parallel streets,” said Senior Director of the SRB Pie IX project, Marc Dionne.
The latter estimates that users will be able to save “around 30% of their time” compared to before, which will be faster than driving, promised. This equates to a gain of around 10 to 15 minutes compared to the 40 minutes that a journey from Henri-Bourassa metro station previously took. Around fifty works of art are also installed on the 15 stations, which will be completed on Monday.
At the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), spokesman Simon Charbonneau recalled that the SRB would be “connected to the Mascouche railway line in the north”. “We know that many users get off at Sauvé to connect to the orange line. Now there is a new option. That’s good news for relieving congestion on the Orange Line,” he said, urging users to consider which of the new “Metropol Fares” works best for them.
The All Modes AB single pass — for example, for someone coming to Montreal from Laval — costs $4.50, compared to $3.50 for someone living on the island. Several North Shore and South Shore commuters are also requesting that the ARTM make up this fare difference.
So far, the extension of Rue Notre-Dame Est, which has been put on hold, is still being planned. Mr. Dionne assures that the STM will be able to make announcements on this subject shortly, but that the organization is working again on the cost optimization analysis in the face of an unsatisfactory tender. Originally set at around 300 million, the SRB Pie-IX budget has experienced several cost overruns in recent years. Including the addition of Notre-Dame, the bill for the project had risen to more than 650 million.
Further steps follow
However, not everything will be ready by Monday. In fact, the new express bus service will only operate on Boulevard Saint-Martin in Laval with a 750-space incentive car park all the way to Avenue Pierre-De Coubertin in Montreal. Conversely, the Jean Talon sector, where the construction of the pedestrian tunnel linking the future blue line station continues, will not be operational immediately, as will that of the Pie IX bridge, whose repairs will be completed in autumn 2023 two Jean Talon and Bélanger stations will therefore have to wait until then.
In addition, the construction of a pedestrian tunnel, still in progress, will result in the complete closure of the intersection of Boulevard Pie-IX and Rue Jean-Talon Est this autumn.
Finally, the SRB Pie-IX must serve the east of Laval by crossing four districts. Connections are planned with the green metro line at Pie-IX station, as well as with the Société de transport de Laval (STL) and the exo5 – Mascouche urban transport line.
A “transitional offer”
However, the frequency of buses using the SRB depends on the ongoing construction sites, including those in the Jean Talon sector, but also on the works under the responsibility of the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) on Pie-IX and de la Concorde Bridges. The city has also invested 130 million in recent years to restore road infrastructure along the Pie-IX axis.
Until then, a “transitional offer” will apply. Line 439 Express Pie-IX will become the main line with a “greatly improved” frequency in the SRB corridor, and its shelters will be located in the middle of the tracks. The frequency of buses will also be increased for this route in three sectors: Lacordaire/Henri-Bourassa, Carrefour Henri-Bourassa/Pie-IX and Laval. It is estimated that buses run regularly, once every four to ten minutes on weekdays during the day.
The timetable of line 139 Pie-IX will be “adjusted downwards” as this line will make more sense for “close trips” or shorter trips with a stop at the curb. The frequency of the night line 355 Pie-IX remains “unchanged”. About 20,000 users currently use lines 439 and 139.
Learn more
38 Once fully operational, the SRB Pie-IX will have 38 “SRB Shelters” available along the route. These are heated and modern shelters placed between the oncoming lanes. At the beginning of November, during the commissioning, 28 of these stations will already be in place.
Montreal transportation company