STM expands bike access on Montreal’s metro system with new pilot

Credit: Société de transport de Montréal

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) has announced that it is launching a pilot project on 15 April 2023, allowing cyclists to bring their bikes into the metro network during extended hours. 

The new pilot will involve extending weekday hours, with the metro network open until 07:00, then resuming again at 09:30 and continuing until 15:30. After a break, the service will then resume again at 18:00 and run until the metro’s closing time. During weekends and holidays, cyclists will be able to use the metro network all day.

In addition, from 20 May to 20 August 2023, bikes will be allowed on the network all day, seven days a week, except for occasional restrictions due to high-traffic events.

Furthermore, bikes will now be allowed in all metro train cars, with a limit of two bikes per car. However, STM now recommends that cyclists avoid the head train car, as it is to be prioritised for use by school groups, day care services and people with certain functional limitations.

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Finally, restrictions on bikes in the metro during high-traffic events will now apply only to specific metro lines and times of day, rather than covering the entire network.

“With these relaxed regulations surrounding the transport of bikes in the metro network, we are pleased to offer greater flexibility for cyclists who would like to use both modes of transportation in tandem,” said Éric Alan Caldwell, Chair of the STM Board of Directors. “This pilot project is just one way that we intend to remove barriers to using public transit, promote sustainable, integrated mobility and make the metro into a space that can be shared peacefully by cyclists, wheelchair users and dog owners alike.”

Running until 15 November 2023, the pilot project will help determine whether bike access to the metro can be improved while maintaining the comfort and safety of all customers. Specifically, the project will allow the STM to assess the effects of the new measures on customer flow and service delivery; security and sense of safety; actual and perceived crowding; the number of cyclists bringing bikes in the metro; customer opinion; and co-existence with customers with functional limitations, prams, pet dogs, service dogs, suitcases, etc.