The new machines are definitely there, and they charge Opus cards as well as issue regular day / multi-day passes.

It is true that they accept debit and credit cards, there is however a twist: In true STM customer friendliness, these cards must be Canadian-issued. My colleagues' European or US credit cards are routinely rejected, my Canadian cards work well.

The machines also take cash.

That can be frustrating, but definitely not limited to the STM.

I routinely have to line up in the US because my Canadian card is not accepted by machines due to the lack of an associated zip code. This is most prevalent in the south (Atlanta is the worst), but is slowly creeping north.

At least here in Canada the clerks don't ask to see ID, which frustrates the heck out of me in the US.

Yes, this has happened to me as well, as far north as a gas station in Vermont, and it does annoy me as well.

However, I find that there is something particularly paltry about a ticket vending machine at an international airport only accepting local cards... :rolleyes:

Wow, thanks for that additional intel. I would've been p*ssed when I tried my US credit card on it. THIS. SUCKS. Who the h*ll thought of that??? Looks like I'll be getting a bit of extra cash from the ATM there next to the currency exchange.

While I like the bus, the fare really annoys me.

I live in Montréal, and I'm tired of seeing cities finally offer some reasonable way to get from the airport to the down town core, only to jack up the price. Vancouver is another example, they charge you extra for going to, or leaving the airport (though, there you can save money by purchasing tickets at the 7-11 on the ground floor).

The bus doesn't do anything revolutionary, it offers a service along what is clearly a popular route. It annoys me that they jack up their fair just because they can. Public Transport should be just that.

I don't live in MTL -- just happened to go for a very pleasant vacation this summer -- and I don't think STM's current arrangement is especially punitive. Locals with monthly/weekly/3-day passes ride for free, and we visitors get a 24-hour bus/subway pass out of it. Instead of extorting money from passengers, STM seems to me to be rewarding them for using public transit regularly.

I agree...the 747 Bus made Montreal infinitely more visitor-friendly compared to the true extortion (cab fare) previously. I visit Montreal every chance I get now, largely because of this. No need to rent a car or ever use a cab there now.

^ As a local, I am in total agreement with this and happy that the STM replaced the former $16 Aerobus and added a viable alternative to the $40 taxi.

My only gripe - for visiting friends - is the thing about no foreign credit cards.

OK, I just arrived in Montreal (at my hotel right now) and I can report the following:

(1) My first use of NEXUS, and it ROCKS! The only problem was that one machine was out of service and the others' touch screens were COMPLETELY WORN such that one didn't respond at all to the "English" prompt, and the one I finally did use required pounding on it in order to get it to respond. But once that was overcome, 45 seconds and you're DONE. AWESOME. Worth getting if you travel through major Canadian ports of entry AT ALL (I only pass thru once every year or two, and still worth it!)

(2) RBC ATM next to the Currency Exchange in the Int'l Arrivals Hall was SO SLOW that it took the 2 guys in front of me in line at least 8 minutes each for a simple withdrawal, and then in my case the PIN entry was so slow that I screwed it up twice and finally gave up. However, the nice gal at the Currency Exchange told me (us) that there is indeed another ATM or two up the escalator in the Ticketing/Departure lobby, which I used and which took 30 seconds. Now I've used the downstairs ATM with no problem on previous visits so I dunno if today was an aberration or not, but in any case this new intel about alternate ATMs right upstairs is important/useful.

(3) The 2 Metro ticket machines are indeed within plain sight in the Int'l Arrivals lobby. I used the intel gathered here and didn't even bother to try my USA-based credit card...I just paid cash to recharge my OPUS card with a 3-day pass for the duration of my visit. I was then on my way to my hotel via its courtesy shuttle.

Hope this is all helpful info.

The price has since risen to $9! This 747 bus is getting expensive...

An increase from $8 to $9 -- not welcome, but hardly a disaster, assuming that the other policies from before still hold:
If this is still true, the bus remains a good bargain.

It is an increase of almost 30 percent within two years or less.

In Halifax we pay $1 on top of whateverticketyouhave - and single tickets for adults start at 1.80 (10-pack). So if you don't have a monthly pass, you can still ride the airport express for $2.80, including a transfer. No 24 hour ticket, but still a much better deal. The ride is also longer, because the airport is far out.

With all the useful info in this thread, it seemed like a good idea to create a wiki to make it more readily accessible. I'm sure it could be improved, so feel free.

Yes, it is still true.

Re the fare increase: I'm sure STM looked at the demand/popularity and adopted the "Because they can!" philosophy.

I'm with other posters/frequent YUL visitors, it's still a good bargain and the best way to get downtown from YUL. However, I do hope they've considered increasing the service frequency during peak hours...standing room only during heavy traffic on the clogged freeways on that bus in no fun at all.

STM has now added a somewhat limited option to purchase one-time 747 bus tickets (for travel to the airport only) at Stationnement de Montréal pay stations. I've updated the wiki accordingly.

Wiki updated with 2014 fares. It's now $10.

Thank you for posting the warning. I will have a friend pick me up at YUL and drop me off there in January.

With a seven-hour layover coming up, does the $10 pass allow me to go downtown a and back on the same pass, since it's within 24 hours?

Absolutely. Have a good trip.

Wow....a 43% increase in 4 years! This is public transit - no? People in Montreal should voice their displeasure to their elected representatives. Still $5 in Edmonton plus $3.20 to transfer and a much greater distance (albeit no day pass included). Halifax is $3.50 and is further yet.

Montrealers aren't really affected by the fare increases as monthly STM passes work on the 747 without any surcharge. The 747 attracts a large number of airport employees, but they're paying the same as if they worked anywhere else. The $10 is really aimed at the travelers, most of whom will still find the 24-hour validity a decent deal.

or SYD where there is an add on for the subway, or HKG with a more expensive airport express (albeit with a transfer included systemwide excluding some stations, or LGW...)
(not to mention that your bus passes have been more expensive historically and have never been valid on the airport bus. I know this from briefly glancing at the kiosk at YEG that sells transit.)

But if one is out of the city for a majority of the time...

I have never encountered a merchant terminal that requires AVS for a card present transaction in the first place...

$10 is the same price a Montrealer pays for a 24 hour pass for the STM system, even if they have no intention of using the 747. There's no gouging.

You've never tried to purchase gas at a pump in the US then.

How crowded is this bus recently? Based on the older posts in this thread it seems like occasionally it's standing room only, which is no fun.

I am considering taking this bus to/from Gare Centrale. Because one trip will be from Gare Centrale (Stop 5?) to YUL on Sunday afternoon, it might be particularly crowded. If so, are there any similarly priced alternatives? Merci~

You should be fine. The Central Station stop is the eastern terminus of the line. Some folks get on there but many also embark at the Lionel-Groulx Metro stop. Departures towards YUL are also more staggered in terms of passenger loads that those from YUL during the afternoon arrivals rush, where I can confirm that busses usually leave full. Do keep in mind that during the day the departures are quite frequent and the STM staff usually have the bus leave pretty much as soon as it's full. There's also always at least two more busses waiting to move up the line.

If baggage storage or a seat are important to you I would suggest that you simply show up 15 minutes earlier than you were originally planning. You could skip a departure easily and be the very first in line for the next one.

The alternative would be to take the regular STM busses towards YUL with all the connections and waiting that those entail.

Thanks, I guess I will take the 747 then.

There is well gouging. If you want to go from downtown to the airport, they charge $10 as well - but the ticket is only valid for two hours.

The tickets sold in the machines at YUL and aboard the 747 buses are all valid for 24 hours of access to the entire STM system. What you do with it is your problem.

This statement is largely false.

As explained in detail in the wiki above, there are several ways to ride the 747 bus. One of them is to purchase a single-use, two-hour ticket from a Stationnement de Montréal parking payment kiosk. But that's offered as a convenience among other options; nobody is required to buy a two-hour ticket.

All of the following passes are also accepted on the 747:

• 1-day
• 3-day
• unlimited weekend
• weekly CAM hebdo
• 4-month CAM
• monthly TRAM 1 to 8

Thus, a regular STM rider will incur no extra cost. And short-term visitors can buy a one-day pass the day before departure; for $10, you get your ride to YUL on the 747 on top of a day of unlimited in-town trips.

EDIT: I'll spell this out even more clearly. For $10, a short-term visitor gets a) unlimited in-town STM rides for the last 24 hours of his/her visit, plus b) a ride to the airport. It's what I did on my last visit, and it's just as much a bargain as buying the pass for use coming into the city from the airport.

This is akin to charging $10 for using the bathroom (except for locals), and then saying "Mais, Monsieur, you can defecate here as often as you want within 24 hours!".

Venice does something like that. I hear they have cheaper rates for the outhouse if booked online well in advance.

Interestingly enough, on Monday my EMV-enabled US Visa card (Citibank HHonors Reserve, chip-and-signature) worked just fine for purchasing a 3-day pass at one of the machines at YUL. So apparently at least some US-issued cards work; maybe the EMV chip is what did the job.

I'll see tomorrow if I can buy a 1-day pass back with the same card at a vending machine at Place d'Armes.

Couldn't quite figure out how to get the machine to sell me an OPUS card to save me some hassle next time I visit; maybe the ones at the airport don't do that, or I didn't pick the right one.

Interesting update lordsutch. The European credit cards we tried last year were EMV-enabled and still got rejected. Perhaps the STM has finally fixed this?

I don't think the vending machines actually sell OPUS cards. You will have to buy it at one of the ticket booths. Once you have the physical card, however, you can then recharge it at the machines.

I hear you can reserve a cab in advance in Montreal. You could try that instead of being "gouged" by the STM.

The 747 bus is a very good deal at 10$ regardless of the price increase, especially if you are staying in the downtown area. It will be slower once you enter the downtown core with the stops but a cab ride from the airport will take almost the exact same route to get to downtown but cost you close to 40$.

We bought a 3-day metro pass from the machine in the international arrivals area for $18 each. We were able to use it for the 747 bus and 3 days of metro usage. We didn't use the metro as much as I originally thought, since so many of the places we visited were in easy walking distance.

I thought the 747 bus was fine and it had a stop one block from our hotel. We thought about getting a taxi from the airport for the 3 of us, but then figured we would get 3 days of metro usage as a bonus for about the same cost.

To update on my own question, I had another European friend visiting this week and he was able to use his European EMV-enabled Mastercard to buy a ticket from the STM machine.

So it seems that international cards are now accepted. ^