So, three transit-y things which positively surprised me about Laval, a place I rarely visit:
The buses are much more frequent than I expected for a car dependant suburb, and the bus stations and waiting areas were a cut above what I’m used to on the STM.
For example, there are indoor areas to wait at the larger hubs and stops have dot matrix displays showing the next departures.
@fifilamoura Thanks. I was aware of this (my local Metro stations have them, and they’re great!). I should have specified I meant stops which aren’t at transit hubs (and to be fair, I have seen one or two! But they’re rare)
@fifilamoura I feel like today showed me I’ve a lot to learn! Always appreciate insight from others, especially as I’m still a relative newcomer to Montreal.
@heliomass There aren't a lot of them but they seem to have started popping up in more metros! They're rare/new enough that I've noticed them when I've run across them!
@fifilamoura It might be my neck of the woods then (they’ve have them at Laurier and Rosemont for a while now, which are the two stations I use the most).
I think this may be well known, but I only found this out recently. In Laval you can tap your bank card to pay for a fare.
Not sure if this then prints a physical ticket you can use for transfers though, but again it’s flexibility in paying for your fare which Montreal lacks.
But I had no idea Laval already had BRT infrastructure, albeit for a short stretch near to Montmorency Metro station (apologies for the dreadful photo. If I’m back there again I promise to get off the bus and take some decent photos).
So, yeah, that was a surprise. I should pay more attention to what’s going on off-island.
Anyway, transit opinions aside I visited the Lego Store for the first time today. It was rather fun, and almost as much as a museum as it was a shop. They even have a monster hunt for kids where they can win a special prize for completing the challenge. All jolly good fun. #Lego
@heliomass and now I have a place to visit! Had no idea there were LEGO stores in #montreal But I need to decide between that and the pinkie Pointe Claire one
@heliomass With construction of Turcot, the west island bus lines have had a BRT for a few years already. Reserved bus lane from Dorval to Lachine, and dedicated bus road in highway median between Ville St-Pierre and Atwater exit for the metro. Used by other buses too, as well as taxis.
example STM buses: 211, 405, 411, 485 , 747 and there may be others.
@heliomass The buses have their own terminus at Dorval next to EXO station and VIA stations. Between Dorval and Cartier, the buses have their own stops on side of highway with tunnels across highway and to the train stations (tunnels built for trai stations initially). West of Cartier, buses generally take local streets (lakeshore dr) but a few stick to highway. There is a fight to preserve the buses as the REM trechnically will prohibit them desite not service those areas.
@heliomass Never thought of that. The tunnels at Pine Beach, Valois and Lakeside (Pointe Claire station) are heated and under camera surveillance. These are residential areas so serve many within walking distance.
@heliomass Cedar Park is a bit different. Only the portion under the tracks was rebuilt and is heated. Rest of path s outdoors but belowo road so some shelter from cold winter winds. (especually portiosn directly under the highway). But the bus stops are at intersection of highway exit and St-Jean so longer walk on footpath from underpass to bus stop.
@heliomass So cosmetically, it isn't a BRT like Ottawa's transitway was for instance. But functionally, it acts as one because it makes buses express with limited stops and not on local roads from Cartier Ave in Pointe Claire to Lionel Groulx Métro. And a big advantage is that between Lionel Groulx and Dorval, the bus driver can take a number of different routes depending on congestion, closures etc. (since there are no stops in between). the 747 bus has the same flexibility in route.
@heliomass If you tap a credit/debit card on a bus in Laval, you can transfer onto to other Laval buses (they will econciliate your transfers in back office). But you have no transfer ability to metro or train.
@heliomass there's an increasing number of operators that support contactless payment including automatic capping in the UK. Lothian buses in Edinburgh (but not trams yet), TfL in London, Some operators in Glasgow. The capping and payment is all done in the backend with payment overnight.
@smsm1 It breaks my heart how far behind Greater Montreal is with this. There’s been a lot of discussion about the causes. They’re likely mostly political in nature.
@EdwinG From what I was seeing on Transit app, it looked like quite a few routes turn into the station and then leave to continue their route. My original assumption was the same as yours, so I didn’t pay attention to the destination.
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