Transit providers in Greater Montréal welcomed service to Quebec’s newest mobility offering: Pie-IX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and Société de transport de Laval (STL) buses will begin utilizing the 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) corridor with buses from exo scheduled to begin using the corridor in 2023.
The corridor connects Saint-Martin in Laval and Pierre-De Coubertin Avenue in Montréal. The project includes 17 stations; 15 are in operation, with Jean-Talon and Belanger expected to open in 2023 once construction of a pedestrian tunnel for the future Blue Line and renovations of the Pie-IX bridge are completed.
“Public transit is the future of mobility in Montréal. We know that our streets are overcrowded, and that the increase in the number of cars is unsustainable. In addition, the climate emergency compels us to speed up our ecological transition and drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” noted Montréal Mayor Valerie Plante at an inauguration ceremony for the corridor. “Public transit plays a key role in tackling these challenges, so we must continue to ramp up our delivery of comfortable, efficient and rapid public transit, such as the Pie-IX BRT. This major project will help improve mobility in the east end of Montréal—and we encourage Montrealers to try it and embrace it.”
Pie-IX BRT is an integrated project developed jointly by the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), the city of Montréal and the Ministère des Transports (MTQ). It is carried out in close collaboration with partners: STM, delegated manager of the ARTM, the city of Laval, STL, exo, the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), as well as the various boroughs served.
The line features traffic signal priority and reserved lanes to speed STM, STL and exo buses; accessible bus shelters with pedestrian safety enhancements and a new fare structure between zones. At the opening of the line, it will have 28 stops, but eventually include 38 stops.
The BRT will also offer transfers to the métro Green line (Pie-IX station), STL services in Laval and the exo5 commuter train line to Mascouche (St-Michel-Montréal-Nord station).
While the BRT corridor has only been in service for a short time, project partners are analyzing a possible 1.7-kilometer (1.1-mile) extension between Pierre-De Coubertin Avenue and Notre-Dame Street East.
“The Pie-IX BRT is a fine example of cooperation and coordination for urban development that incorporates sustainable mobility and land-use planning. Public transit must be agile and offer a renewed mobility experience through efficient, comfortable, reliable and more frequent service that can meet citizens’ needs. We are together today to inaugurate a key component of this vision. This is an important step for the East and Northeast to provide Greater Montréal with a greater number of efficient services,” said ARTM CEO Benoît Gendron.
