YUL-747 express bus
 

http://stm.info/English/info/a-747.htm

$7-includes 24 hour metro pass.
This goes from the airport to the transit center near UQAM.

It's also in a banner ad on this page! It states that you can also simply pay the usual bus fare.

This is GREAT news...I'll be in Montreal in mid-May sans rental car, and I've been evaluating my public transit options (211 bus to Lionel Groulx STM station seemed to be the best compromise, and not a great one) vs. a taxi downtown. This new service now solves the problem (of course I'll first have to stop at an ATM to get some Canadian cash, and then a newsstand to make some change...but I'd probably be doing that anyway).

Thanks for the post!

Using firefox I never realized there were banner ads. I had to open up IE to see what you were speaking of.

In the PDF it says that only certain tickets are accepted - the usual bus fare is not mentioned.
http://stm.info/English/info/a-747.pdf

Since the 1-Day-Pass is 7$ as well, this seems to be the minimum fare.

For a single ride it's not cheap, but still good news for me since I'll have to make a quick connection from the airport to the railway station in June.

TNX 4 the info!

No need to make change.

When you exit the customs area you'll find an RBC ATM immediately on your right, and right next to it is the currency exchange, where you can buy a ticket using one of the crisp new twenties the ATM will spit out at you.

Enjoy your trip to my fair city.

Cheers

Perfect, thanks. And I've also read some articles I found on-line in the past week or two about all the new signage encouraging the new bus service, and the fare options (I'm planning on doing the $7 initial fare/one-day unltd., and then the next day picking up a $14 3-day unltd. to complete my transit needs for my 4-day visit).

This is great.

spent the weekend in montreal last weekend and the bus was very convenient. it was great that the bus fare also allowed us to use the subway for 24 hours. one issue was that the drivers don't make stops unless requested. that's fine for a normal bus, but not for a bus that is mostly carrying tourists who are unfamiliar with the city. that led to some confused/frustrated riders. apart from that the service was great!

Definitely pays to do the homework ahead of time...I already know at which stop I need to disembark to reach my hotel. I can see where that would be a problem for folks who aren't aware of this service ahead of time and only decide to use it spur-of-the-moment once they've arrived at YUL.

Careful using this bus on a Sunday... With an hourly schedule and on a popular travel day, it gets packed... The bus this afternoon just passed up a bunch of people at (or near) the Lionel station. Don't know what their fate was today... Maybe they rounded up another bus? :confused: But even if you're boarding downtown (before the Lionel station on the way to YUL), I'd recommend getting on toward the beginning of the route or maybe halfway into the downtown portion of the route.

Thanks for this information- I may be in Montreal in a couple months and have never flown in- was wondering about transportation from the airport. I can't wait for my visit- been about 3-4 years and I used to go 2-3 times a year! Any changes since that time I should be aware of?

Isn't Gare Windsor (the West Island, Hudson etc. commuter rail station) now known as Lucien L'Allier?

I took the bus on a Monday, coming from the airport everyone had a seat and it was a fairly comfortable ride. Coming back, it was packed so I had to stand the whole way (~40 minutes). It was a warm day in Montreal so in addition the bus was hot. Not fun. Wish I had taken Via Rail back to Dorval instead, oh well.

Whats left of Gare Windsor doesn't function as a train station anymore. The newly built station which has commuter rail out of it is Lucien L'Allier.

I was in Montreal last week and I can heartily recommend the 747 Express Bus...definitely the best and most cost-effective way to get to/from the Airport. And I didn't have any trouble getting a seat on the return trip to the Airport but I did board at about 12 Noon, at Jeanne Mance (only about 3 stops in)....but I can definitely see how others have reported possibly having to stand if it's a busier time of day and/or getting on later in the route.

I would also strongly recommend doing your homework ahead of time as to where to disembark if it's your first time visiting the city...the drivers don't always announce each stop, although I think they will do so if you ask ahead of time when you board.

I also used the 747 service last week.
It was great=and dropped me right by my hotel(Le Centre Sheraton) in a very timely manner.
I think it might prove to be too popular however as I heard reports of long lines during the Memorial Day weekend.

Well, I was in Montréal for the Memorial Day Weekend. I spent 20 minutes in line at the airport to buy the ticket (Sat., May 29th, approx. 10AM) and the buses were running full. Fortunately I didn't have to stand on the ride, there was also traffic into the city that morning, it took about 45 minutes to get to René Lévesque and Peel (I was at the Marriott Château Champlain). The return ride on Monday (May 31st, around 11AM) was standing room only by the time we got to Lucien-L'Allier, also this bus was a regular one without luggage racks, people were falling over the place.

Bring 7$ in coins, then you don't have to queue for the ticket! You can get it from the machine on the bus.

However, my ticket didn't work properly. It was accepted for 24 hours on buses, but at the metro stations it only worked sometimes, most of the time it wouldn't. I had to walk up to the counter several times and explain what kind of ticket it was to be left through. Sometimes I was treated rudely, like if I was trying to pull of a scam or something. The people there asked their supervisors, once they even called someone and I had to wait a few minutes before they left me in. A nuisance.

More frequencies have recently been added to this service as it prove so successful. There is also (finally!) a ticket vending machine at the airport which accepts cards, so you can now buy your $7 ticket there. Regular day, weekly and monthly passes are also accepted, however $2.75 single fares are not.

Great news...thanks for all the info here, I have two questions:
1. Can you buy a 3-day pass at the airport?
B. If you buy a pass earlier in the day for the return trip to the airport, can you use the subway for ~24 hours prior to taking the 747 Bus?

Finally, credit/debit cards are accepted at the machine at the airport?

Thanks again for the info! Coming there this weekend and am already looking forward to the bus - we took a cab a few years ago when we visited...

-jeremy

Yes, use the same machines as the 1-day pass.

Yes

No, but they accept bills, and there's a Royal Bank ATM next to the money exchange that is very close to the machines. You can also buy passes at the money exchange, but for cash only.

Hope you enjoy your weekend, and that the weather holds out for you.

Cheers

Fare increase
 

For anyone planning to pay on board (coins only), note that the fare is now $8. See the "Planibus" at http://www.stm.info/english/bus/Planibus/747.pdf

I have an OPUS card from my previous trip to Montreal...can it be recharged at this machine?

Alas, no.

OK, so then would you think the best option would be to buy a one-day pass upon landing to use the 747 Express bus and the Metro the rest of the first day, and then once downtown charge my OPUS card up for the rest of my visit once my second day gets underway?

Yes, that's what I'd do. You come out pretty much even on the 3rd ride in the 24 hours, and if you're staying for a couple of days you might as well.

The only bus you could use your Opus on upon arrival is the 204/211 combo to get downtown. Depending on your arrival time this may not add all that much time to your trip (the 211 uses the same route as the 747 to get downtown), but depending on where you're going it will probably take a Metro ride as well.

Thanks for the confirmation and add'l insight.

I will use this thread to ask my question: will stay at Sheraton Centre and was wondering if there would be any advantage of taking a cab vs. the shuttle - is there a big time difference to cab and/or long walk from stop #4?

I think that on the way back I may prefer cab to save a few minutes.

I would defer to truly local expertise for a "final answer", but based on my experience last year on the 747 and looking at the route map and the location of the Sheraton Centre, the bus appears to be a no-brainer ("yes"), as it will put you within a block of the hotel. The only risk I could see would be on the way back to YUL, where if you travel during rush hour there might be a risk of not being able to get a seat on the bus that many stops into the route.

I took the bus today, and the stop was across the intersection from the hotel. However, I was not pleased with the ride - the lineup at the airport was long and I had to wait in line until the next bus pulled up, and then it was full and I was fortunate to have found a seat. About half of the passengers left at the first stop, though.

Yes, that's a metro stop for two lines serving city centre.

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. ^