Getting Around Montreal: A Transportation Guide

Montreal's sensible layout combined with an extensive and super-efficient public transport system (Metro, bus and commuter rail services) make getting around the city easy. In fair weather hundreds of kilometres of bike paths that span the island offer a healthier, pleasant option. Public transport is run by STCUM. The pristine metro has dozens of stations along four different lines with numerous stops in the subterranean mall. The metro stops are all integrated with a comprehensive network of city bus routes. The metro and buses run between 5.30am and 1am, with a limited night bus service filling in. The inner city services in turn connect to a commuter rail network that serves the suburbs. Fares are standard on both the bus and metro and transfers are free; a discounted tourist pass is available for bus and metro. Metered taxis can be hailed in the streets downtown or ordered by telephone. There are numerous car rental firms in the city, but roads are often heavily congested and traffic jams are common.

Montreal has two international airports, one for passenger flights only, and the other for cargo. Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (formerly Dorval Airport, the name still used by locals) in the City of Dorval serves all commercial passenger traffic and is the headquarters for Air Canada and Air Transat.

Rail
VIA Rail, which is headquartered in Montreal, provides several rail services to other cities in Canada, particularly to Quebec City and Toronto with several trains daily. Amtrak, the U.S. national passenger rail system also provides service to Montreal, operating its Adirondack daily between Montreal and New York City. Most trains operate out of Gare Centrale.

Bus and Metro
The STM bus network consists of 169 daytime and 20 night-time service routes, and provides adapted transport and limited wheelchair-accessible buses.Each station of the Montreal Metro was designed by different architects with individual themes and features original artwork, and the trains themselves run on rubber tires, making the system quieter than most. It has 68 stations spread out along four lines. It was inaugurated in 1966 and completed in time for Expo 67.

Road
Like many major cities, Montreal has a problem with vehicular traffic congestion, especially from off-island suburbs such as Laval on Île Jésus, and Longueuil on the southeastern shore. The width of the Saint Lawrence River has made the construction of fixed links to the southeastern shore expensive and difficult. Accordingly, there are only four road bridges (plus one road tunnel, two railway bridges, and a metro line), whereas the far narrower Rivière des Prairies is spanned by eight road bridges (six to Laval and two to the north shore).