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I tried the 439 Pie-IX SRB on Monday, its first day of operation. It was a great experience. I saved a good 15 minutes from Montréal-Nord to métro Pie-IX compared to the 139 bus, pretty much as promised by the STM. It will be even better when the bus doesn't have to do a long detour at Jean-Talon to go around the future metro station's construction site.

The SRB will be a game-changer for anyone who uses transit on Pie-IX.
314659827_10159457979769139_814770173498877259_n.jpg


I didn't find the plan very clear, though (the one at the top, that shows the bus lines coming in and out of the SRB at various points)

SRB Pie-IX 1.jpeg


And outside of rush hours, the headways weren't very impressive. A bus every 10 minutes. The STM says they'll adjust it as ridership grows.

SRB Pie-IX 2.jpeg




Overall, I'm sure transit users will enjoy this new service a lot.
 
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I tried the 439 Pie-IX SRB on Monday, its first day of operation. It was a great experience. I saved a good 15 minutes from Montréal-Nord to métro Pie-IX compared to the 139 bus, pretty much as promised by the STM. It will be even better when the bus doesn't have to do a long detour at Jean-Talon to go around the future metro station's construction site.

The SRB will be a game-changer for anyone who uses transit on Pie-IX.View attachment 437841

I didn't find the plan very clear, though (the one at the top, that shows the bus lines coming in and out of the SRB at various points)

View attachment 437846

And outside of rush hours, the headways weren't very impressive. A bus every 10 minutes. The STM says they'll adjust it as ridership grows.

View attachment 437847



Overall, I'm sure transit users will enjoy this new service a lot.
Thanks for your review. Always happy to hear when a transit improvement saves people time. It makes day-to-day life smoother.
 
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I tried the 439 Pie-IX SRB on Monday, its first day of operation. It was a great experience. I saved a good 15 minutes from Montréal-Nord to métro Pie-IX compared to the 139 bus, pretty much as promised by the STM. It will be even better when the bus doesn't have to do a long detour at Jean-Talon to go around the future metro station's construction site.

The SRB will be a game-changer for anyone who uses transit on Pie-IX.View attachment 437841

I didn't find the plan very clear, though (the one at the top, that shows the bus lines coming in and out of the SRB at various points)

View attachment 437846

And outside of rush hours, the headways weren't very impressive. A bus every 10 minutes. The STM says they'll adjust it as ridership grows.

View attachment 437847



Overall, I'm sure transit users will enjoy this new service a lot.
I remember when the old R-Bus was working on Pie-IX over 30 years ago when I was a kid. Took them all that time to "rebuild" BRT...

Never change Montreal

I did like the flashing arrows on the buses though
d955d84b-7d3c-4f2f-8cbb-ed1cd7f08f5e_ORIGINAL.jpg

af89897bf28c294375cc0cf2b30455d4d69938b2.jpeg
 

The airport station of the REM is now expected to launch by end of 2027.
 

The airport station of the REM is now expected to launch by end of 2027.
That's a huge delay of 3-5 years depending on which timeline you start from. I wonder if YYC will end up with rail service before YUL at this rate 🤷‍♂️
 
I like the Marie-Curie name for a station, but looking at the route map, the stop isn't actually on that street so wondering how that happened lol
 
I like the Marie-Curie name for a station, but looking at the route map, the stop isn't actually on that street so wondering how that happened lol
It's the only road in the area with a French name.

It's 400 metres away - that's close than Pioneer Village is to Pioneer Village.

Heck, the new entrance to Greenwood station is 450 metres away from Greenwood Avenue but only 300 metres from Coxwell Avenue; Greenwood station should have been called Linsmore - the exit closest to Greenwood is on Linsmore, over 200 metres away from Greenwood!
 
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It's the only road in the area with a French name.

It's 400 metres away - that's close than Pioneer Village is to Pioneer Village.

Heck, the new entrance to Greenwood station is 450 metres away from Greenwood Avenue but only 300 metres from Coxwell Avenue; Greenwood station should have been called Linsmore.
That's the only reason? Kinda funny.
 
That's the only reason? Kinda funny.

Not really. There are other English names on the REM line, like Kirkland, Sunnybrooke, Fairview, Griffintown, etc. My guess is that the planners wanted a station name with symbolic significance – Marie Curie was a woman who made world-changing scientific achievements.

(It would have been fun if they'd used her full name, though: Marie Salomea Sklodowska-Curie. She was Polish-French.)
 
I'm glad Begratto had a good experience on the Pie-IX SRB but I'm personally disappointed at how it turned out. There are no ticket machines at the stations, and most importantly, service is extremely limited in evenings and weekends. This was promised as a line offering metro-like service which obviously isn't the case. It's not exactly show-up-and-go.

That said, at least the infrastructure is there, and service improvements can be made in the future. It's better than nothing. But still...
 

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