Can I ask about what time of day and day of week you arrived at YUL. Considering taking the 747 also to the Sheraton later in July, but now not so sure.

Note that if the Planibus is accurate, the time between buses on weekdays is only 10-12 mins.

I can confirm the timing. I take my coffee/smoke breaks about 50 feet from the 747 embarkation point at YUL, and only very rarely is there no bus actually at the stop. They seem to leave every 10 minutes or so during the day and into the evening. I've often seen a bus leave as soon as it's full and have another pull up behind it.

The 747 is really hard to beat for the price and destinations it serves. The allure of the savings versus a taxi is what attract riders, making the route a very busy one.

Thank you Beltway and ls...decided to go with the 747 based on your knowledge and experience.

*** New ticket machines ***
 

Just an update to let anyone visiting this thread in the future know that the ticket machines that sell the 1 and 3 day passes required to use the 747 Express have been replaced and now accept credit/debit cards in addition to cash/coin. These machines do not require chip-pin cards, and do not ask for a zipcode.

The machines also allow Opus card users to top up their cards upon arrival at YUL. The only fares that the new machines don't sell are single-ride tickets for the non-express busses on the rest of the STM network.

There are two machines against columns between the cafe and convenience store located at the international arrivals area. The machines face the exit from the secure area. There are also a few parking payment machines in the area, not to be confused with the STM machines. The old cash-only machines are also still in place, but I'm not sure how long they'll continue to be serviced.

Cheers

Interesting. I just flew to YUL last Monday (5 days ago) & didn't see these new machines, only the old cash-only machines with their backs against the plate glass of the front of the terminal building. (Taking non-chip/pin cards is huge. I tried using my US-based card to buy farecards at regular STM machines & got nowhere.) Thanks for this update.

Note also that less than 3 weeks ago, STM added a new downtown stop to the 747 bus -- between the stop at Mansfield and the stop at Jeanne-Mance -- at Rene Levesque and Union (eastbound) and Cote du Beaver Hall, aka Phillips Place aka Place du Frere Andre (westbound). The latest planibus shows this fairly clearly (except for the inexplicable decision to label the westbound stop "Place du Frere Andre"); precise arrival timetables for these and all other stops can be found at http://www.stm.info/English/bus/GEOMET/A-GEO747.htm. Having boarded the bus at this stop less than 12 hours ago, I can attest that all is in order -- including visible signage at the bus stop -- and that my bus arrived right on schedule.

This is great new intel and great news...thanks. Definitely simplifies things for visitors like me, set to return to YUL for a couple of days in Oct.

Reviving this thread...

Can I (we) get an updated intel report on the Metro ticket machines in the Int'l Arrivals area at YUL? As of the posts above in July, ls17031 reported that there are 2 new full-service machines in place, but then beltway followed up and indicated that he/she did not locate those machines.

I'm set to arrive at YUL for a 2-day trip in a couple of weeks; just getting my planning set (I have an OPUS card from my last visit and plan to top it up with a 1- or 3-day pass.)

Thanks!

The machines were there a week ago when I took the bus. I bought a one day ticket on my opus card quickly and conveniently.

Beautiful...thanks. ^

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.