Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
has a developed
transport
Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
infrastructure network, which includes well-developed air, road, rail, and
maritime links to the rest of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, as well as the United States and the rest of the world. Local public transport includes
a metro system, buses, ferry services and
cycling infrastructure
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...
.
Montreal is one of the transportation hubs for
eastern Canada
Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...
and most of
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. The city has two international airports,
Dorval Airport for passenger flights and
Mirabel for cargo. Rail transportation includes intercity trains operated from
Montreal Central Station
Montreal Central Station (, ) is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year, making it the second-busiest train station in Canada, af ...
to
Quebec City
Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
,
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
as well as commuter trains. Public transit in
Greater Montreal
Greater Montreal (, ) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a population of 4,02 ...
is operated by several public transit providers. Montreal is subject traffic congestion, particularly the
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelag ...
which is a hub for the
Autoroutes of Quebec
The Quebec Autoroute System or le système d'autoroute au Québec is a network of freeways within the province of Quebec, Canada, operating under the same principle of controlled access as the Interstate Highway System in the United States and th ...
. Montreal is known for being one of the most
bicycle-friendly
Bicycle-friendly policies and practices help some people feel more comfortable about traveling by bicycle with other traffic. The level of bicycle-friendliness of an environment can be influenced by many factors including town planning and cycl ...
cities in the world, with an extensive bikeway network and
cycling mobility.
Air
Montreal has two international
airports
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such ...
, one for passenger flights only, and the other for cargo.
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (also known as ''Dorval Airport'') in the City of
Dorval
Dorval (; ) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburban City (Quebec), city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has t ...
serves all commercial passenger traffic and is the headquarters for
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...
and
Air Transat
Air Transat () is a List of airlines of Canada, Canadian airline headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1986, it operates scheduled and charter flights serving 60 destinations in 25 countries. Air Transat is owned and operated by Transa ...
.
To the north of the city is
Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in
Mirabel, which was envisioned as Montreal's primary airport but which now serves cargo flights along with
MEDEVAC
Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters an ...
s and
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
, as well as some passenger services.
In 2016, Montreal-Trudeau was the
third busiest airport in Canada by both passenger traffic and by aircraft movements, behind
Toronto Pearson and
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. In 2016, the airport handled 15.6 million passengers and 225,203 aircraft movements. With 61% of its passengers being on non-domestic flights, it has the largest percentage of international flights of any Canadian airport.
Trudeau Airport is served by 40 carriers to over 100 destinations worldwide. Airlines servicing Trudeau offer flights to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
,
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
,
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and other destinations within Canada. Trudeau Airport is home to the largest
duty-free shop
A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...
in North America.
Other
airports
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such ...
in the Montreal area serve military and civilian use.
Plattsburgh International Airport
Plattsburgh International Airport is a county public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) south of the central business district of the city of Plattsburgh, within the Town of Plattsburgh in Clinton County, New York, Unit ...
in the United States—closer to Montreal's southern suburbs than Trudeau—also serves the area.
Public transportation to
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport is provided by the
Société de transport de Montréal
The Société de transport de Montréal (, STM; ) is a public transport agency that operates transit bus and rapid transit services in the urban agglomeration of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1861 as the "Montreal City Passenger Railwa ...
's bus line 747. A new electric light rail system, the
Réseau express métropolitain
The Réseau express métropolitain (REM; ) is a Medium-capacity rail system, light metro rapid transit system in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As of June 2025, it consists of five stations spanning 16 km, connecting Downtown Montreal with th ...
(REM), is currently in planning and will connect the airport with Montreal's downtown core upon completion, intended for 2027.
Rail Transportation
Intercity passenger service
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada.
As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...
, which is headquartered in Montreal, provides rail service to other cities in Canada, particularly to
Quebec City
Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
,
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
, and
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
with several trains daily on its
Quebec City-Windsor Corridor
Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, the US national
passenger rail
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
system, also provides service to Montreal, operating its
Adirondack train daily between
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
All intercity trains operate out of
Central Station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
. VIA and Amtrak trains also stop at several suburban stations, the largest of which is at
Dorval
Dorval (; ) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburban City (Quebec), city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has t ...
, adjacent to the airport.
Regional passenger service
Regional passenger train service, geared largely to daily commuters to Montreal's
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
, is operated by
Exo
Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...
. Six train lines operate out of the
Lucien-L'Allier and
Central stations with
Parc,
Vendome,
De La Concorde, and
Sauvé as secondary stations. These facilities are all stops on the Metro system as well. Lines are operated under contract by Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. In some cases, Exo owns the track and infrastructure.
Freight service
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
(known as CP or the CPR), now headquartered in
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...
, was founded in Montreal in 1881.
Its corporate headquarters occupied
Windsor Station at 910
Peel Street until 1995.
With the
Port of Montreal
The Port of Montreal (, ) ( ACI Canadian Port Code: 0395, UN/LOCODE: CA MTR) is a cruise and transshipment point. It is located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The port operates as an international container port. It serv ...
kept open year-round by icebreakers, lines to Eastern Canada became surplus, and now Montreal is the railway's eastern and intermodal freight terminus.
CPR connects Montreal with the Port of Montreal, the
Delaware & Hudson Railway to New York, the
Quebec-Gatineau Railway to Quebec City and
Buckingham
Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...
, the
Central Maine and Quebec Railway
The Central Maine and Québec Railway was a Class II railroad, Class II freight railroad operating in the United States, U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec with headquarters in Bangor, Maine. It was own ...
to Halifax, and
CN Rail. The CPR's flagship passenger train, ''
The Canadian
''The Canadian'' () is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Canadian Pacific introduced this serv ...
'', once ran daily from Windsor Station to Vancouver. CP's passenger services were transferred to VIA Rail Canada in 1978.
Montreal-based
Canadian National Railways
The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...
(known as CN or CNR) was formed in 1919 by the Canadian government following a series of country-wide rail bankruptcies. CN was formed from the lines of the
Grand Trunk, Midland and
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canada, Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonto ...
s, and has risen to become CPR's chief rival in freight carriage in Canada.
Like the CPR, CN transferred passenger services to VIA Rail Canada, now a
crown corporation
Crown corporation ()
is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government.
Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...
, but once part of CN itself.
Public transit
Greater Montreal
Greater Montreal (, ) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a population of 4,02 ...
is served by a number of public transit providers.
Société de transport de Montréal
The
STM serves the Island of Montreal as well as islands of
Bizard,
des Soeurs,
Notre Dame, and
Sainte-Helene. The bus network consists of 165 daytime and 20 night-time service routes. STM also provides
paratransit
Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...
and limited wheelchair-accessible buses.
Metro
The Montreal Metro, a subway system, was inaugurated in 1966 and today has 68 stations spread out along its four lines. All but five stations are on the Island of Montreal and in STM's territory. Each station 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. The project was initiated by Montreal Mayor
Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau (; 18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Montreal for 2 non-consecutive terms from 1954 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1986.
Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include ...
, who would later bring the Summer Olympic Games to Montreal in 1976. The Metro system has long had a station on the
South Shore in the city of
Longueuil
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...
, and in 2007, extended to the city of
Laval, north of Montreal with 3 new stations.
Since Sunday, February 7, 2016, the new Azur metro cars are accessible to the users, one of the many features of these new cars is that they can accommodate up to 8% more passengers than the current models who have been running since inauguration of the metro.
The city of Montreal has announced plans to convert its entire fleet of buses over to
all-electric by 2025.
Société de transport de Laval
The city of Laval, on neighboring
Île Jésus
Île Jésus (, ''Jesus Island'') is a river island in southwestern Quebec, separated from the mainland to the north by the Rivière des Mille Îles, and from the Island of Montreal to the south by the Rivière des Prairies. It is the second-larg ...
, is served by the Société de transport de Laval (STL). The STL runs 40 routes, many of which connect to one of the three Laval Metro stations or to the RTM train station at
Sainte-Dorothée. Other bus routes connect to Metro stations on the Island of Montreal, including
Côte-Vertu Côte-Vertu may refer to:
*Côte-Vertu Boulevard, in Saint-Laurent and Dorval (Montreal)
* Côte-Vertu station, a Montreal Metro station in the borough of Saint-Laurent
*Terminus Côte-Vertu, an Exo bus terminus partly north and partly south of the ...
and
Henri-Bourassa.
Réseau de transport de Longueuil
Service to the densest part of Montreal's
South Shore is provided by the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL). RTL's numerous routes serve the
Terminus Centre-Ville
Terminus Centre-Ville is an Metropolitan Regional Transportation Authority, ARTM bus terminus located within 1000 de La Gauchetière in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is multimodal with the Bonaventure (Montreal Metro), Bonaventure Metro station an ...
, the
Longueuil Metro station, and several Exo train stations.
Exo
Exo provides commuter bus (as well as commuter rail) services to suburbs not served by the RTL or STL, via direct/express or feeder routes. In 2017, the Exo network carried more than 190,000 commuters daily.
Ferry services, summertime only
From late spring to early autumn, pedestrian/cyclist ferry service links the
Old Port of Montreal
The Old Port of Montreal () is the historic port of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located adjacent to Old Montreal, it stretches for over along the Saint Lawrence River. It was used as early as 1611, when French fur traders used it as a trading post. ...
,
Saint Helen's Island
Saint Helen's Island () is an island in the St. Lawrence River, in the territory of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago. It is situated immediately offshore from Old Montreal on the southeastern sid ...
, and the South Shore communities at
Longueuil
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...
, a distance of .
Mid-July 2016, a proposal was suggested by a competing riverboat operator at establishing summertime weekday rush-hour pedestrian ferry service between the downstream, northeastern, outermost borough of
Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles and the Old Port, an approximate distance of . The city permanently adopted summertime sailings as of May 2019, and expanded service to seven days and six evenings per week. Having customarily trialed at 30 knots (approximately 34½ miles or 55½ kilometres per hour), implementation of the service has consequently seen its speediness reduced by at least one quarter; nonetheless, with its service even doubled during weekday peak hours it provides the valley with its swiftest sailings, and it even outpaces road traffic between its two docks.
Other scheduled Island of Montreal services:
*
Lachine - Île Saint-Bernard (
Châteauguay
Châteauguay ( , , ) is an off-island suburbs, off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, located on both the Châteauguay River and Lake Saint-Louis, Lac St-Louis, which is a section of the St. Lawrence River. The population of the ...
)
* Mercier (
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
) -
Île Charron (
Longueuil
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...
)
*
Pointe-aux-Trembles
Pointe-aux-Trembles () was a municipality, founded in 1674, that was annexed by Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1982. This was the last city to be merged into Montreal until the 2002 municipal reorganization.
On January 1, 2002 this neighbourhood ...
>
Varennes Varennes may refer to:
Canada
* Varennes, Quebec
* Varennes, Winnipeg, a neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
* Varennes County, a county established 1881 in the disputed District of Keewatin, Canada
France
Varennes is the name of sev ...
(south shore) >
Repentigny (north shore) >
Pointe-aux-Trembles
Pointe-aux-Trembles () was a municipality, founded in 1674, that was annexed by Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1982. This was the last city to be merged into Montreal until the 2002 municipal reorganization.
On January 1, 2002 this neighbourhood ...
—a one-way circuitous trio of journeys that total 1½ hours' sailing time (roughly ½ hour each one).
Further nearby scheduled St Lawrence River services include:
*
Boucherville
Boucherville () is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.
Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and the Montreal Metropolitan ...
- Île Grosbois
* Île à Pinard -
Île Sainte-Marguerite
Île Sainte-Marguerite (; , ) is the largest of the Lérins Islands, about half a mile offshore from the French Riviera city of Cannes, situated in the Bay of Cannes. The island is approximately in length (east to west) and across (north to so ...
—entirely within Quebec's Boucherville Islands Park
*
Lavaltrie
Lavaltrie () is a city located within the D'Autray Regional County Municipality in the southern part of the region of Lanaudière, Quebec, Canada, northeast of Montreal outside the suburban sprawl of the North Shore (i.e., the suburbs located no ...
-
Contrecœur
*
Les Coteaux -
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield () is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Regional County Municipality of Beauharnois-Salaberry. The population as of 2021 was 42,410.
The historic downtown is a major touristic centre for the area.
Due to th ...
*
Longueuil
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...
-
Île Charron
* Notre-Dame-de-L'Île-Perrot -
Beauharnois
* Notre-Dame-de-L'Île-Perrot -
Pointe-des-Cascades
Réseau express métropolitain
On 22 April 2016 the forthcoming automated
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
system, the
Réseau express métropolitain
The Réseau express métropolitain (REM; ) is a Medium-capacity rail system, light metro rapid transit system in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As of June 2025, it consists of five stations spanning 16 km, connecting Downtown Montreal with th ...
, was unveiled. Groundbreaking occurred 12 April 2018, and construction of the network – consisting of three branches, 26 stations, and the conversion of the region's busiest commuter railway – commenced the following month. The first phase for five stations was opened on July 31, 2023 which will follow by the next two phases in 2024, becoming the fourth largest automated rapid transit network after the
Dubai Metro
The Dubai Metro () is a rapid transit system in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The metro system consists of a network of two main lines: the Red Line and the Green Line. A third line, the Blue Line, is scheduled to open in 2029.
Du ...
, the
Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, and the
Vancouver SkyTrain
SkyTrain is the medium-capacity rapid transit system serving the Metro Vancouver region in British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks running on underground and elevated guidewa ...
. Most of it will be financed by pension fund manager
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (, CDPQ; ) is an institutional investor that manages several public and parapublic pension plans and insurance programs in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was established in 1965 by an act of the ...
.
Statistics
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Montreal, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 87 min. 29.% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 min, while 17% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 7.7 km, while 17% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.
Road network

Like many major cities, Montreal has a problem with
vehicular
A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velomobiles), animal-power ...
traffic congestion, especially from off-island
suburbs
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
such as
Laval on
Île Jésus
Île Jésus (, ''Jesus Island'') is a river island in southwestern Quebec, separated from the mainland to the north by the Rivière des Mille Îles, and from the Island of Montreal to the south by the Rivière des Prairies. It is the second-larg ...
, and
Longueuil
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...
on the south shore. The width of the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...
has made the construction of fixed links to the south shore expensive and difficult. There are only four road
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
s along with one road
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
, two
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
bridges, and a
Metro
Metro may refer to:
Geography
* Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
line. The far narrower
Rivière des Prairies
The Rivière des Prairies (; ), called the Back River in English, is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The Kanien'kehá:ka called it ''Skowanoti'', meaning "River behind the island". The river separates the citi ...
, separating Montreal from Laval, is spanned by eight road bridges (six to
Laval and two directly to the
north shore).
On the
Island of Montréal motorists are forbidden from turning right while facing a red traffic signal, a move permitted elsewhere in the
Province of Quebec
Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
.
Limited-access highways (autoroutes)
The island of Montreal is a hub for the
Québec autoroute system, and is served by Québec autoroutes
A-10
The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 19 ...
(known as the Bonaventure Expressway on the island of Montreal),
A-15 (aka the Decarie Expressway south of the A-40 and the Laurentian autoroute to the north of it),
A-13 (aka autoroute Chomedey),
A-20,
A-25,
A-40 (part of the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
system, and known as "The Metropolitan" or simply "The Met" in its elevated mid-town section),
A-520, and
R-136 (aka the Ville-Marie autoroute). Many of these autoroutes are frequently congested at
rush hour
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...
. However, in recent years, the government has acknowledged this problem and is working on long-term solutions to alleviate the congestion. One such example is the extension of
Quebec Autoroute 30 on Montreal's
south shore, which will serve as a
bypass.
Today's existing highways have been planned in the 1960s as part of a grid like transport system.
Street grid system
Since Montreal is on an
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
, the directions used in the city plan do not precisely correspond with
compass
A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...
directions, as they are oriented to the geography of the island. North and south are defined on an axis roughly
perpendicular
In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...
to the St. Lawrence River and the Rivière des Prairies: North is towards the Rivière des Prairies, and south is towards the St. Lawrence. East (
downstream) and west (
upstream) directions are defined as roughly
parallel
Parallel may refer to:
Mathematics
* Parallel (geometry), two lines in the Euclidean plane which never intersect
* Parallel (operator), mathematical operation named after the composition of electrical resistance in parallel circuits
Science a ...
to the St. Lawrence River and the Rivière des Prairies, despite the fact that both rivers flow from the southwest to the northeast.
Saint Lawrence Boulevard, also known as "The Main," divides Montreal into east and west sectors. Streets that cut across Saint Laurent Boulevard undergo a name change, in that
Est or
Ouest are appended to their names. Streets that do not cross the Main do not generally contain a
cardinal direction
The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four main compass directions: north (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°.
The ...
at the end of their names.
Address numbering begins at one at Saint Lawrence Boulevard. The numbers increase as you move away from the boulevard. On north–south streets, house numbers begin at the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...
and the
Lachine Canal
The Lachine Canal (, ) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine (borough), L ...
and increase to the north. Odd numbers are on the east or north sides of the street, with even numbers on the west or south sides. Numbered streets generally run north and south, and the street numbers increase to the east.
Moreover, the addresses are on a
grid-axis system, as in many
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n cities. Streets generally retain their grid position throughout their course, even if they are slightly
diagonal
In geometry, a diagonal is a line segment joining two vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, when those vertices are not on the same edge. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word ''diagonal'' derives from the ancient Greek � ...
. For example:
*
Sherbrooke Street
Sherbrooke Street (officially in ) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal, Canada. The street begins in the town of Montreal West, Quebec, Montreal West and ends on the extreme ...
, which runs "east–west" is 3400 (north of the Saint Lawrence), so a house on the northeast corner of Sherbrooke St. would theoretically be numbered 3401, and on the northwest 3400.
*
Saint Hubert Street
St. Hubert Street (officially in ) is a north–south street that spans the island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the c ...
, which runs "north–south" is 800 East, so a house on the northeast corner of St-Hubert St, would be 801 (or 801 East if the street crosses
Saint Lawrence Boulevard), and a house on the southeast corner would be 800 East.
*
Peel Street, which runs "north–south" is 1100 West, so a house on the northwest corner of Peel St, would be 1101 (or 1101 West if the street crosses
Saint Lawrence Boulevard), and a house on the southwest corner would be 1100 West.
An anomaly is that zero is the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...
''and'' the
Lachine Canal
The Lachine Canal (, ) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine (borough), L ...
, so address numbers south of the canal begin at zero at the river, then increase toward the canal, and the canal resets the address grid back to zero. Charlevoix Street crosses the canal, and Atwater Avenue formerly also did (the portion to the south has now been renamed Thomas Keefer Street); as a result, addresses south of the canal on these two streets have a
leading 0 (zero) before the number to avoid repeating the same addresses that are used to the north. Therefore, 01000 Charlevoix Street is south of the canal, one block over from 1000 Hibernia; and 400 Charlevoix is north of it, one block over from 400 Lévis.
Other grid axes:
* ''North-south streets, east side'': St-Denis 400, Atateken/Christophe-Colomb 1100, Papineau 1800, De Lorimier 2100, Pie-IX Blvd 4100, Honoré-Beaugrand 8000, St-Jean-Baptiste Blvd 12000, Rousselière 14000.
* ''North-south streets, west side'': St-Urbain 100, Park Avenue 300, Peel 1100, Atwater 3000, Décarie 5300, Cavendish 6500, Dollard 8800, Des Sources 11800, St-Charles 17000.
* ''East-west streets:'' Notre-Dame 500, René-Lévesque Blvd 1150, Sainte-Catherine 1400, De Maisonneuve 2000, Sherbrooke 3400, Mont-Royal Avenue 4500, St-Joseph Blvd 5000, Beaubien 6500, Jean-Talon 7200, Jarry 8100, Henri-Bourassa 10700, De Salaberry 12000. Gouin Blvd, which follows the shore of Rivière des Prairies, is too
crook
Crook is slang for criminal.
Crook or Crooks may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Crooks Inlet, former name of Kangiqturjuaq, Nunavut
England
* Crook, County Durham, a town
* Crook, Cumbria, a village and civil parish
* Crook Hill, Derby ...
ed to have a constant grid
reference
A reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''nam ...
.
The grid-axis system was introduced by the City of Montreal in the mid-1920s, but was not generally adopted by
neighboring town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
s. Most on-island suburbs or
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
s merged recently on the west side of the island still have separate numbering systems, though most streets that start in the 9 original boroughs continue the Montreal numbering beyond its old borders. The highest address in Montreal is 23000 Gouin Boulevard West in the borough of
Pierrefonds, beyond which begins the separate system of
Senneville.
Street naming
Most streets in Montreal do not change name throughout their course, respecting their grid axis. Streets such as
Saint Laurent Boulevard
Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as Saint Lawrence Boulevard (officially in ), is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A commercial artery and cultural heritage site, the street runs north west–south east through the near-centre of ...
,
Papineau Ave., De Lorimier Ave. and
Pie-IX Blvd. have a foot in both rivers, and some street names are used for more than one section of street, despite gaps or interruptions.
There are a few notable exceptions which continue for historical reasons. A few north–south streets which begin in
Old Montreal
Old Montreal (, ) is a historic List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, neighbourhood within the List of municipalities in Quebec, municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is b ...
change name at
Saint Antoine Street
Saint Antoine Street (officially in ), formerly known as Craig Street, is a street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs to the south of Downtown Montreal and north of Old Montreal and Griffintown and Saint-Henri. It crosses the Quartier ...
(formerly Craig Street), site of the former city wall (Saint-Pierre → Bleury →
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
, Bonsecours →
Saint-Denis). Only one street changes name many times:
McGill Street →
Square-Victoria Street → Beaver Hall Hill → Frère-André Place → Phillips Place → Phillips Square → Aylmer St.
According to the rules of th
Commission de toponymie du Québec the
French-language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
form of street names is the only official one, and is to be used in all languages: e.g. ''
chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges''; ''
rue Sainte-Catherine''; ''côte du Beaver Hall''. Most English speakers, however, use English generic equivalents such as "street" or "road", as do English-language media such as the
Montreal Gazette
''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
It is the only English-language daily newspape ...
. Officially
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
boroughs have the right to use such names in official contexts, such as on street signs. In the past, a number of streets had both English and French names, such as "avenue du Parc" and "
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
"; "rue de la Montagne" and "
Mountain Street"; "rue Saint-Jacques" and "
Saint James Street". Some of these names are still in common
colloquial
Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation amo ...
use in English, and are perpetuated by the tourism industry. Many streets incorporate an English specific name into French, such as "
chemin Queen Mary", "
rue University", "
avenue McGill College". There are also a few cases where two names are official, such as "chemin du Bord-du-Lac/Lakeshore Road".
In English, the pre-Francization names are still commonly used, thus, although only the French is 'official', in English one often hears names such as Park Avenue,
Mountain Street, Saint Lawrence Boulevard,
Pine Avenue
Pine Avenue () is an east–west street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This street serves as the dividing line between the Downtown Montreal, downtown Ville-Marie, Montreal, Ville-Marie borough and Boroughs of Montreal, borough of Le Plateau-Mon ...
, Saint John's Boulevard etc. Canada Post accepts the French specific with English generic, as in "de la Montagne Street" or "du Parc Avenue", although many such forms are never used in speaking. Another anomaly that typifies this kind of mixed
heritage
Heritage may refer to:
History and society
* A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...
and history is
René Lévesque Boulevard
René Lévesque Boulevard (), previously named Dorchester Boulevard, is one of the main streets in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
It is a main east–west thoroughfare passing through the downtown core in the borough of Ville-Marie (Montreal), Ville ...
. Once called "Dorchester Boulevard" in its entirety, this long east–west street was renamed for Quebec former
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
Prime Minister
René Lévesque
René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...
, except for sections that run through the very
Anglophone
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
city of
Westmount
Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census.
Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...
and the separate independent city of
Montreal East
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
. However, the entire street is still sometimes referred to as "Dorchester."
It is useful to note that, in Montreal as in other cities, the generic is usually omitted in either language, so one would simply talk of Park (or Du Parc), Mountain (or De la Montagne), Saint Lawrence (or Saint Laurent), University, McGill College, Doctor Penfield, or Fairmount. This is mainly because a specific is almost never given to two streets. If
duplication
Duplication, duplicate, and duplicator may refer to:
Biology and genetics
* Gene duplication, a process which can result in free mutation
* Chromosomal duplication, which can cause Bloom and Rett syndrome
* Polyploidy, a phenomenon also known ...
exists, they are always in different boroughs or towns and are retained for historical reasons. For example, Montreal's present 19 boroughs have 6 streets named "Victoria" (2 streets, 2 avenues, one court, and one square), and 9 more in on- or off-island suburbs.
In recent years Montreal and most of its suburbs have dispensed entirely with such generic and linguistically fraught terms on their street signage. In some heavily Anglophone suburbs, including Westmount and
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe.
The ...
, the street signs now list the specific alone, e.g., "Claremont" instead of "Avenue Claremont" or "Claremont Avenue".
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
is an unusual case: its signs are bilingual, and most streets in the town are designated as "rue" (street) in French but also "Road" in English.
Cycling

The Copenhagenize Index ranked Montreal in the world's top 20 cycling-friendly cities from 2011 to 2019. In 2015, a study reported Montreal as the city with the highest rate of cyclists, the most separated cycling lanes, and fewest cycling crashes in Canada. The city is also known for its shared cycling services, such as the
BIXI network, and cycling events including Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal and the annual mass group rides ''Tour de l'île'' and ''Tour la Nuit''.
History
Cycling in Montreal began in the mid-1800s, with the establishment of several riding schools and the first Canadian cycling club, Montreal Bicycle Club, in 1878. Following the invention of the safety bicycle around 1890, the worldwide bicycle craze swept Montreal, introducing more people to cycling and leading to the creation of more clubs and better cycling networks.
In the 1970s, the second bike boom occurred in North America. Accordingly, the activist group Le Monde à Bicyclette demanded the establishment of bicycle lanes and a bike-friendly bridge across the Saint Lawrence River.
The city introduced its first bicycle lanes in 1985 and a bike-friendly bridge in 1990. Also in 1985, Vélo Québec launched the cycle parade Tour de L'île. The parade has since attracted thousands of cyclists annually and is slated to continue as of 2020.
In 2013, an average of 116,000 bicycle trips were made each day on the Island of Montreal, an increase of 57% from 2008. Montreal's cycling network had more than doubled in size over the past 25 years, increasing in density and accessibility to people from different backgrounds.
Montreal's bikeway network
Montreal was the first Canadian city to install on-street
cycling infrastructure
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...
. In 2017, Montreal had 850 kilometres of bikeway, with an average addition of 50 kilometres of new bikeway annually.
[Ville de Montréal. (2017). Montreal, City of cyclists - cycling master plan: safety, efficiency, audacity. 1-36. Online:
https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/transports_fr/media/documents/plan_cadre_velo_ang_final_lr.pdf Accessed 9 May 2020.] There are four main types of bikeways: exclusive bike paths, bike lanes, designated shared roadways, and on-street paths. Exclusive bike paths, accounting for 37% of the network, are isolated from traffic, often by concrete barriers.
These lanes are installed primarily on wide avenues, and often consist of lower height traffic signs and special bike signals to protect cyclists from vehicular traffic. Bike lanes, accounting for the second-largest share of the total network, are integrated within the roadway but are separated from traffic by small barriers and are at least 1 meter apart from vehicle lanes to ensure rider safety.
[Société de l'assurance automobile du québec (SAAQ). (2020). Signs and signals and bicycle infrastructure. SAAQ. Online:
https://saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/road-safety/modes-transportation/bicycle/signs-signals-bike ways/ Accessed 9 May 2020.] Designated shared roadways, accounting for 24% of the total bikeway network, are often found on narrow streets.
Designated shared roadways have no reserved bicycle lane, but priority is given to cyclists and speed is limited to less than 30 kilometres per hour to ensure rider safety.
On-street paths (paved shoulders) are unique from separated bike lanes, as there is no buffer distance between vehicular traffic and riders.
Cross-river cycling
The Jacques Cartier Bridge bike path connects the Island of Montreal with the South Shore of the Saint-Lawrence River. However, the winter closure of the bike path between November and March has caused inconvenience for commuting cyclists. Beginning in ate 2019, operators of the bridge announced a pilot project with 25 daily participants to test the feasibility of opening the path to the public throughout the winter.
Shared bicycle services

Montreal has one of the most innovative
bicycle-sharing system
A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.
The programmes themselves include both ...
s in the world (Austen, 2015). In 2009, the city launched the
BIXI network with 3,000 bicycles and 300 stations, one of the first docked cycling-sharing systems in North America. As of 2020, 610 BIXI stations have been installed across 17 boroughs and 3 cities (Westmount, the Town of Mount Royal, and Laval), with 7,270 regular bikes and 160 electric bikes. An additional 1,000 e-bicycles will be added to the network throughout summer 2020.
The unlocking fee is $0.50 and $0.10 per minute, and yearly memberships cost $99 In total, over 44 million BIXI trips have been made in the city since the network's inception.
In 2019, Uber launched a pilot project of its dockless “JUMP” electrical bicycles in Montreal, the first of its kind in Canada.
JUMP bicycles can be dropped off anywhere there is a bicycle rack, are unlocked using Uber's smartphone application, and cost 30 cents per minute of usage.
In 2019, there were approximately 1,000 JUMP bicycles in the city. Usage patterns of JUMP bicycles differed from BIXIs in 2019, with an estimated 28,000 trips in July 2019, compared to over 1.1 million BIXI trips in the same month. Despite the ban on other forms of shared e-scooters in summer 2020, JUMP bicycles are slated to return to Montreal's streets this year, but the city will charge a higher cost to Uber to obtain operating permits.
''
Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
'' named the bike rental system #19 in Time's Top 50 Inventions of 2008. Bike rentals are also available at the
Old Port of Montreal
The Old Port of Montreal () is the historic port of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located adjacent to Old Montreal, it stretches for over along the Saint Lawrence River. It was used as early as 1611, when French fur traders used it as a trading post. ...
, as well as
quadricycles
A quadracycle (also spelled quadricycle) is a four-wheeled human-powered land vehicle. It is also referred to as a quadcycle, pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle amongst other terms.
Quadracycles have been in use since 1853 and have grown into ...
,
inline skates
Inline skates are boots with wheels arranged in a single line from front to back, allowing one to move in an ice skate-like fashion. Inline skates are technically a type of roller skates, roller skate, but most people associate the term rolle ...
,
children trailers, and
Segway
A Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter device invented by Dean Kamen. The name is a registered trademark of Segway Inc. It was brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, and then subsequently as the Segway PT. ''HT ...
s. The system was created to offer an attractive and easy-to-use option that complements existing public transportation networks for those seeking an urban alternative to traditional fuel-powered vehicles.
Réseau Express Vélo (REV)

On May 27, 2019, Mayor Valérie Plante announced the Réseau Express Vélo (REV). The initiative will bring 184 kilometres of new, protected bike routes to the streets of Montreal; see Figure 2 for the proposed network.
The plans boast elevated bikeways, priority traffic lights, and concrete borders separating cyclists from automobiles for improved safety.
This network will ensure that 44% of Montrealers live within 500 metres of new bicycle infrastructure (Jadah, 2019). The transitional period will feature the “installation of a physical separation barrier, securing of intersections and synchronization of lights, visual signature and signage for cyclists” while long-term permanent construction continues simultaneously.
No timeline for the project's final completion has been announced.
Community response to REV
Local activists have questioned Mayor Plante's commitment to prioritizing cycling infrastructure, asserting that “there is no sense of urgency”, per Daniel Lambert of the Montreal Bike Coalition.
Community groups say that the $15 million allocated for funding in 2019 is “nowhere near what the city should be investing to respond to the climate crisis and meet its own goals to get significant numbers of Montrealers out of their cars and onto bicycles”.
Further, intense criticisms of the 26 kilometres of new bikeways in 2019-2020 have arisen in comparison to the average of 46 kilometres of bikeways per year implemented between 2008 and 2017. Marianne Giguère, the city's associate executive committee member responsible for active transit, has stated that this decision is evidence of a shifted focus towards “security and finding ways to separate bikes from traffic”. The city continues to work with activist groups to promote bike safety and improve infrastructure.
Walking and Walkability
Walkability
In urban planning, walkability is the accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it s ...
is a measure of how pedestrian-friendly an area is. Numerous factors influence walkability such as street infrastructure, safety measures and mixed land use. Benefits include positive contributions to health and happiness, the environment, and socioeconomic factors.
Background
Active transportation, including walking, accounted for 15% of trips in Montreal in 2013, an increase of 9.1% from 2008. The largest increase was observed in neighbourhoods near the city centre.
Based on ease of access to errands by foot, Montreal is ranked by Walk Score as the second-most walkable city in Canada, with inner-city neighbourhoods such as Plateau Mont-Royal, Outremont and Ville-Marie obtaining the highest marks. Montreal is also home to around 50 car-free streets and one of the world's largest indoor pedestrian networks, improving access by foot to the downtown area.
Challenges
A key challenge to walkability in Montreal is safety, with 19 pedestrians killed by drivers of motor vehicles in 2019. Policymakers have responded by investing in improved pedestrian signals and by modifying traffic speeds and rights-of-way. In the Plateau Mont-Royal, Mayor Luc Ferrandez has gone further and cooperated with other boroughs to unveil a comprehensive action plan to prevent accidents.
Montreal has 122,600 people with limited mobility, who face special challenges. For these individuals, pedestrian-oriented infrastructure such as sidewalk cafés can limit mobility by blocking sidewalk access.
Another challenge to walkability is higher precipitation or wind speeds in the winter months, which has a strong negative effect on pedestrian count. Montreal almost implemented heated sidewalks on St. Catherine street to combat the winter weather, but eventually decided against it, due to costs. However, Montreal's underground city allows pedestrians to be protected from the weather while they walk from metro stops to some downtown buildings.
Increasing walkability
Walkability can be improved by ensuring:
*Pedestrians are the main priority
*Safe, attractive, and highly connected pedestrian circulation
*Denser neighbourhoods with mixed uses that support public activity
*Transit networks that are alongside highly walkable areas
*Complete streets that support multiple modes of transport
*Limited, higher-priced curbside parking and hidden parking lots
Plans that promote walkability
Following are some of the plans implemented in Montreal that focus on increasing walkability:
*Plan de Transport (2008) - Reduced the dependence on automobiles and focus on active modes of transportation.
*Plan D'Action en Accessibilité Universelle de la Ville de Montréal (2015-2018) - Pushed for universal accessibility especially for people with functional limitations.
*Politique de Stationnement (2016) - Introduced a new parking pricing approach, to create an environment that supports more sustainable mobility, and created a government body to manage parking.
* Plan D'Action Montréal Physiquement Active (2014-2025) - Push for compact urban areas, more pedestrian networks, and safer cycling routes to promote a more active lifestyle.
* Vision Zéro (2019-2021) - Aim to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the road to zero.
Benefits
Health
Health benefits arise from nutritious food accessibility, high urban density, and physical activity.
Moreover, walkability benefits seniors experiencing a decrease in mobility post retirement.
* Food access: Montreal ranks as the second Canadian city for widespread food insecurities and has a high number of food deserts, with a relatively high proportion of the population unable to access fresh food within a 500m radius. Having affordable healthy food within a walkable distance improves its inhabitants’ health potential.
Indeed, the spatial unattainability of nutritious food is one of the leading causes of obesity in North America and "in 2007, the obesity rate of Montreal adults was 14.8%, compared with 11.8% in Toronto and 8.6% in Vancouver".
* Cardiovascular health & Obesity: Urban environments such as parks and green spaces can passively or intentionally stimulate the cardiovascular system leading to reduced obesity and an overall healthier and longer life.
Contrary to gyms, these spaces are accessible to the whole socioeconomic spectrum, making shorter distances to such settings essential for the population's health.
Mount-Royal park's immense size and central geographic position permit accessibility to a significant number of inhabitants. However, smaller parks are not found equally throughout Montreal. The future burden of chronic disease from obesity lies in Canadians with average BMI, and thereby a walkable environment benefits the greater number. Densely built neighbourhoods reduce physical inactivity since motorized commuting is unnecessary. Montreal is an island-city, thereby has a low index of urban sprawl. Besides its center, it possesses many dense mixed land-use neighbourhoods such as the Plateau and the Mile-End, which favour daily cardiovascular activity.
* Seniors: Walking is the main physical activity in the senior population of Montreal (individuals over the age of 65), decreasing the likelihood of physical and mental health issues.
Walkability for seniors is influenced by physical mobility, individual abilities and spatial accessibility.
Locations that exhibit greater walkability have more crosswalks, four-way intersections and limited dead-ends. Research shows that regions in Greater Montreal that have stronger walkability to grocery stores, have improved independent ageing for seniors, meaning their autonomy to carry out essential tasks safely is prioritized.
Further research is needed to make regions more age-friendly, especially for seniors since walking is a key factor in improving the quality of life due to the health benefits of remaining physically active.
Environment
Montreal has 17 large parks, representing a combined area of 4900 acres. Green spaces like Jean Drapeau Park and Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park promote walkability through the addition of pedestrian safe zones. In July 2016, there was an estimated 1.7 °C difference between “Car-Dependent” and “Walkers’ Paradise” neighbourhoods in Montreal, revealing that regions with increased walkability had lower urban air pollution and air temperatures due to less vehicle emissions. To further mitigate increasing temperatures, Saint Michel, Montreal has a plan by 2032 to plant new vegetation (i.e. trees) to promote walkability by cooling pedestrian walkways, benefiting the environment through carbon sequestration.
Socioeconomic
In Montreal, walking behaviour between regions varies due to socioeconomic factors like education level, employment and income. Research shows that low-income individuals in Montreal live in regions with less walkability due to a lack of infrastructure including pedestrian lanes and proper street lighting. However, overall walkability increases access to local businesses, thus promoting social interactions. Increasing urban development in tourist destinations like Old Montreal will subsequently increase walkability and attract more tourists and locals, promoting economic growth.
Cars for tourists
For people who need a car for a short term, Montreal has auto sharing and car rental services, with offices of
Hertz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...
and
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterpris ...
etc. There are also taxis for transport in the city.
Marine
The region of Montreal is centred upon the
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelag ...
, part of an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
in the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...
. As a result, marine transportation has been integral to the region's history. The
Port of Montreal
The Port of Montreal (, ) ( ACI Canadian Port Code: 0395, UN/LOCODE: CA MTR) is a cruise and transshipment point. It is located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The port operates as an international container port. It serv ...
is one of the largest
inland port
An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port.
Examples
The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...
s in the world.
Montreal also sits at the head of the
Saint Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...
, a waterway that allows ocean-going vessels to travel as far as
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
and beyond. The Seaway replaced the earlier
Lachine Canal
The Lachine Canal (, ) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine (borough), L ...
which was the first facility that allowed boats to bypass the
Lachine Rapids
The Lachine Rapids () are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the South Shore. They are confusingly located near the borough of Lasalle and not Lachine.
The Lachine Rapids contain large standi ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
MontrealRoads.com by Steve Anderson(English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transportation In Montreal