Getting around Montreal: public transport, passes and taxis

Montreal is a metro city. The four-line network plus the REM light rail reaches the places visitors actually go: Old Montreal, downtown, Plateau Mont-Royal, Mile End, Jean-Talon Market and the Olympic Stadium area. Fares are cheap by North American standards, and the system runs from about 05:30 to 01:00, later on weekends (check).

Choose the metro for anything along its lines. Use buses for cross-town trips the metro misses, such as Mont-Royal Avenue or the Plateau's north-south streets. Walk or take BIXI in the warm months. Take a taxi or ride-hailing for late nights, heavy bags, or when you are going somewhere off the network. A rental car only makes sense for day trips out of the city.

Montreal fares are sold on the OPUS card, a rechargeable smart card, or as single-use tickets. The STM also accepts contactless credit and debit cards on metro gates and bus readers on some routes (check). If you are staying more than two days, an OPUS card plus a multi-day pass is usually the cheapest option.

A single fare covers one trip with transfers for 120 minutes on buses and the metro (check). Day, 3-day and weekly passes give unlimited rides and are the best value for visitors. Children under 6 ride free; reduced fares apply to ages 6–17 and 65+ (check). Keep your ticket until you exit, since inspectors do check.

The metro has four lines: green (Angrignon to Honoré-Beaugrand), orange (Côte-Vertu to Montmorency), yellow (Berri-UQAM to Longueuil) and blue (Snowdon to Saint-Michel). Berri-UQAM, Lionel-Groulx and Jean-Talon are the main transfer stations. Trains run every 2–5 minutes at peak and every 5–10 minutes off-peak (check).

Buses fill the gaps. The 24 runs along Sherbrooke, the 80 along Parc, the 55 along Saint-Laurent, and the 11 climbs to the Mont-Royal lookout. Night buses (routes numbered 300–399) run when the metro is closed. In winter, allow extra time: snow and ice slow buses and can close parts of the network.

The REM is a newer light rail network that connects downtown with the South Shore and other suburbs. Lines and stations have opened in stages, so check which branches are running before you rely on it (check). It uses the same fare zones as the rest of the network.

From Montréal-Trudeau (YUL), the 747 bus runs to downtown in about 45–60 minutes depending on traffic. The fare is about CAD 11 and is included in day and multi-day passes (check). Taxis from the airport to downtown use a flat rate of about CAD 50 (check), and ride-hailing is usually similar or a little less off-peak. See the airport transfer page for detail.

Taxis are metered and easy to find at ranks outside hotels, train stations and the airport. A cross-town trip in the centre is usually CAD 15–30. Tipping is 10–15%. Ride-hailing apps work across the city and are often cheaper outside peak hours, but surge pricing can push them above taxi rates on weekend nights.

For late nights, both are reliable. If you are in a group, a taxi or ride-hailing can be cheaper than four transit fares. Drivers generally speak French and English in the tourist areas; outside them, French helps.

BIXI is Montreal's bike-share system, with docking stations across the centre and e-bikes on many routes. It runs from about April to November, weather depending (check). The city has a growing network of protected bike lanes, including along de Maisonneuve and Rachel. Riding in winter is possible but not for everyone.

Walking is the best way to see Old Montreal, the Plateau and Mile End. Distances are short: Old Montreal to downtown is about 20 minutes on foot, and Plateau to Mile End about 15 minutes. In winter, watch for ice on sidewalks and stairs.

A visitor using transit all day will spend about CAD 11 on a day pass, or CAD 22 for a three-day stay. A week of unlimited travel is about CAD 32. Taxis and ride-hailing add CAD 12–30 per trip across the centre. BIXI is about CAD 5 for a single trip or about CAD 20 for a monthly pass (check).

A rental car is CAD 60–130 a day plus fuel and parking, which in the centre can be CAD 20–40 a day (check). For most city stays, transit plus the occasional taxi is far cheaper than a car.