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Montreal has an absurdly easy metro system -- only four lines -- and a very cleverly intelocked bus system. Every metro station serves as a mini bus-station, so you can always take the bus from the metro, and the metro from the bus. There are clear simple maps at every metro station and most bus shelters. All bus stops tell you what metro station the buses will go to next. You can buy a one day ($9) or three day ($18) tourist pass from metro stations where they anticipate tourists. Or you can buy individual tickets or an "Opus" card for $7 and then charge it with fares, either a number of individual tickets or a weekly pass. ($19.50). The pass or card is good on buses and metro. If you use tickets, they're valid for travel for 90 minutes from when you first use them.
The metro is totally inaccessible for wheelchairs. There are stairs and escalators everywhere. For people not in wheelchairs but with some mobility issues, there are usually escalators for big flights, but they expect you to be able to climb say 20 steps, and there are often random little sets of four or five steps just thrown in just for fun.
The buses however are totally accessible. They are almost all kneeling buses, they have ramps and seats that fold up. You can get anywhere on buses and avoid the metro, it just takes longer. Use the maps or feel free to ask me here or in email if you want to know in advance how to get somewhere on buses.
Taxis aren't very expensive, and fill in the holes public transit doesn't reach, such as transporting large or awkward things.
May 31 2009, 23:59:42 UTC 2 years ago Edited: June 1 2009, 01:12:14 UTC
June 1 2009, 12:26:27 UTC 2 years ago
The metro is wheelchair impossible. There are stairs everywhere.
Buses are almost all wheelchair perfect -- they kneel, seats fold up, there's a button to extend a ramp. You can get anywhere on buses, but it takes longer. You can use the map to figure out which buses to take, or if you want to know in advance ask me -- really, I'm very good on bus routes.
And the short version is, if you want to go to anywhere that I've listed as metro Sherbrooke or Mont-Royal or Laurier, take the 55 up St Laurent and for Sherbrooke get out at Sherbrooke and get a 24 east, for Mont-Royal get out at Mont-Royal and get a 97 east, and for Laurier get out at Laurier and get a 51. For anywhere I've listed as Villa Maria, get a 55 up to Sherbrooke and take a 24 west to Villa Maria metro. These are all frequent (every 15 minutes or better) buses. Anything more complicated, look at the map or ask me.
June 1 2009, 00:47:07 UTC 2 years ago
June 1 2009, 01:58:28 UTC 2 years ago
For me, it doesn't matter much, since I'll be arriving on Tuesday and then leaving on Tuesday.
June 1 2009, 12:29:14 UTC 2 years ago
June 1 2009, 15:37:09 UTC 2 years ago Edited: June 1 2009, 15:41:56 UTC
June 1 2009, 17:20:26 UTC 2 years ago
Not for everyone, I'm sure.
The problem is, many airports really don't have provision for pedestrians (and cyclists) to access the terminal. Do you have any information about this?
Thanks for starting this, by the way.
Oh, and is the weekly pass on an Opus card a 7 day or calendar week pass?
I just assumed it was 7 day, but....
June 1 2009, 18:23:36 UTC 2 years ago
June 1 2009, 18:33:50 UTC 2 years ago
It's a shame there's even a question about pedestrian access, but we have at least one bad example locally.
June 1 2009, 18:39:43 UTC 2 years ago
The only airport I can recall that has easy pedestrian access is SEA, where one could easily walk to the Sea-Tac Hilton if desired. (Which was one reason I felt sort of odd about the NASFiC going to so much trouble to collect me when I was FGOH. But they were trying to honor me, after all.) Sea-Tac also (last time I checked) also had reasonable short-term high-clearance vehicle parking, which is not easy at many airports like SFO whose only short-term parking is a parking garage where taking a 10-foot-high vehicle means you're going to clothesline yourself. (Lisa's Big Orange Van won't fit even if you take down the antennas.)
June 1 2009, 18:53:00 UTC 2 years ago
And you can cycle to SFO, but not walk (as far as I know)- there's even long term bike parking there.
I've not been to SJC in MANY years, so it's unknown territory.
July 20 2009, 03:52:21 UTC 2 years ago
June 1 2009, 19:30:44 UTC 2 years ago
You can technically walk from the airport to Dorval bus/rail station, but it's airport approach, there aren't necessarily sidewalks and it's nothing like clear. Every time I catch the stupid 204 I look at it and think no, actually, I don't much want to try walking this. I wouldn't say it would take 19 minutes though, more like 10, because it really isn't very far. Just it would be ten minutes full of scary junctions and no expectation of foot traffic.
The other way of getting from the airport, which I absolutely never do, is to get the aerobus to Berri. I think it was $15 as of last Farthing Party, it may have gone up. Now I never do this because I live here, and Berri is way over there, and a taxi here is $25, and there's usually two of us. But if you were one person wanting to get to the Palais, which is only two metro stops from Berri (or only about 20 minutes walk come to that) this isn't necessarily a bad plan.
Incidentally, somebody else is supposed to be putting or have put "from the airport" on the official website, this information is for the restaurant guide which people won't get until they're already at the Palais...
June 2 2009, 16:18:23 UTC 2 years ago
I hope whoever's doing "from the airport" is aware of this thread.
June 11 2009, 06:27:50 UTC 2 years ago
http://www.anticipationsf.ca/English/Ai
June 11 2009, 15:45:26 UTC 2 years ago
June 11 2009, 04:39:31 UTC 2 years ago
June 11 2009, 15:40:30 UTC 2 years ago
Of these, only the 211 is a frequent bus. The 204 runs every 30 minutes, the 108 runs every 30 minutes, the 36 runs every 20 minutes. This could be a lot of waiting about, but it would only cost $2.75!
Alternatively, if the timing worked out better you could take the 108 north from Lionel Groulx to Atwater metro and then take a 150 bus (also every 30 minutes) along Rene Levesque, getting out at St Urbain and going down one block to the Palais.
Which hotel are you in? Because it might make a difference for which of these made sense. If you're in the Intercontinental or the Delta, definitely you want the first option, but if it's the Holiday Inn, the second would be better.
June 14 2009, 14:22:42 UTC 2 years ago
June 1 2009, 15:58:14 UTC 2 years ago
-- Steve still hasn't decided whether it's better to get weekly passes or just a couple of 3-day tourist cards, given that the convention straddles two calendar weeks.
June 3 2009, 20:56:07 UTC 2 years ago
http://nanika.net/Metro/
http://metro.nanika.net/imetro.html
July 21 2009, 03:18:35 UTC 2 years ago
one of the advantages of living in ottawa is that i can access the STO stations in hull using my ottawa bus pass easily so when i travel down to montreal i can already HAVE this stuff ready, if possible. course the people in hull are pretty rude about these things to ottawa folk who don't speak french.
July 21 2009, 05:59:16 UTC 2 years ago
It doesn't say you can on the STM webpage, so you probably can't. If you're in Hull and find out, please post and let everyone else know.