Société de transport de Montréal


The Société de transport de Montréal 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 Railway Company", it has grown to comprise four subway lines with a total of 68 stations, as well as 221 bus routes and 23 night routes. The STM was created in 2002 to replace the Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de Montréal. The STM operates the second most heavily used urban mass transit system in Canada. the average daily ridership is 1,745,700 passengers: 686,300 by bus, 1,063,500 by rapid transit and 13,100 by paratransit service.

History

Several other public transport companies existed prior to the creation of the STM. From 1861 to 1886, the Montreal City Passenger Railway Company operated a small network of horse-drawn trams.
In 1886, the company changed its name to the Montreal Street Railway Company. The first electric tram appeared in 1892 and was nicknamed "the Rocket". The company underwent another name change in 1893: MSTR became the MTR for Montreal Island Beltline Railway. A year later, the network was fully electrified and in 1894, the last horse-drawn tram was taken out of service. From 1910 to 1911, the company was named Montreal Public Service Corporation before changing again to Montreal Tramways Company.
Although they were put into service in 1919, buses only began to be widely used starting in 1925, with the creation of several regular lines. Then in 1937, the first trolley buses were used. In 1939, the company had 929 trams, 224 buses and 7 trolley buses, serving about 200 million passengers per year. The replacement of tram lines by buses began in 1951, when a law was passed by the provincial government that transferred the overall management of transport in Montreal to a public organization, the Commission de transport de Montréal. The last tram was withdrawn from service in 1959.
The Montreal Metro was inaugurated in 1966; this year also saw the end of trolley bus service.
The CTM became the Commission de transport de la communauté urbaine de Montréal in January 1970, and in 1985, rebranded itself again, becoming the Société de Transport de la Communauté Urbaine de Montréal. Commuter trains ceased to be managed by the STCUM in 1996 and responsibility for this service was transferred to the newly created Agence métropolitaine de transport.
It was not until January 1, 2002, at the time of the merger of Montreal with other municipalities on the Island of Montreal, that the Société de transport de Montreal was created, taking the place of the STCUM.
By 2025, tensions between the STM and its employees grew and a series of successive union-led strikes were launched. On June 9, 2025, 2,400 STM maintenance workers involved with the Syndicat du transport de Montréal launched a nine-day strike. On September 5, 2025, it was agreed that the 2,400 STM maintenance employees who are CSN members would cease working overtime for at least two weeks starting September 22, 2025, launching a second strike lasting two weeks. On November 1st, the 2,400 STM maintenance employees who are CSN members voted to cease working overtime for the entire month of November, though through union negotiations and tremendous external pressure, this strike was called off on November 11th. Transit operators voted to strike on Saturday November 1st as well, but their planned strike, on November 15-16, which called for 48 hours of complete public transit shutdown, was called off at the 11th hour. A third striking union, planned to strike on the 19th of November, 2025, reached a deal on November 17th.
NameAbbreviationStart dateFinish dateRemarks
Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de MontréalSTCUMJune 20, 1985December 31, 2001Dissolution of the Montreal Urban Community
Commission de transport de la communauté urbaine de MontréalCTCUMJanuary 1, 1970June 19, 1985Creation of the Montreal Urban Community
Commission de transport de MontréalCTMJune 16, 1951December 31, 1969Municipal corporation formed to take over assets of MTC
Montreal Tramways CompanyMTCMarch 24, 1911June 15, 1951New privately held corporation from merger from MSR, MPIR, and Montreal Terminal Railway Company
Montreal Street Railway CompanyMSRJune 21, 1886March 23, 1911New name for MCPR
Montreal Park and Island RailwayMPIRDecember 27, 1893March 23, 1911Privately held corporation; controlling interest acquired by MSR in 1901; merged into MTCo in 1911.
Montreal City Passenger Railway CompanyMCPRMay 18, 1861June 20, 1886Privately held corporation; horse-drawn street railway service began November 27, 1861.

Streetcars

From 1861 to 1959, Montreal had an extensive streetcar system. The streetcar network had its beginnings with the horsecar era of the Montreal City Passenger Railway in 1861. That private company would become the Montreal Street Railway in 1886 and the Montreal Tramways Company in 1911. The assets of the company were taken over by the city-owned Montreal Transportation Commission in 1951.

Regional transit service

The STM was formerly involved in the operation of regional transit services. The first such service was a set of bus routes inherited from the October 1980 expropriation of a private bus company called Metropolitan Provincial Inc. These regional bus routes operated from downtown Montreal to the western part of the Island of Montreal, as well as to off-island points located west, southwest, and northeast of the Island of Montreal. By the end of 1985, the STM had exited the regional bus business to focus on its core territory. Most of the regional bus routes were passed to private operators who provided services under contract to newly formed intermunicipal transit councils.
The second regional service involved the management of two commuter train lines. On July 1, 1982, the CTCUM and the Canadian National Railway entered into an agreement to integrate the Montreal-Deux Montagnes commuter train line into the regular CTCUM bus and Metro network. The CTCUM paid CN to staff, run, and maintain the trains, while it set the fares and schedules. Passengers travelling within the CTCUM operating territory were able to transfer between the trains and the bus or Metro, with no fare supplement required to make a bus- or Metro-to-train transfer. On October 1, 1982, a similar agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway went into effect, and CP's Montreal-Rigaud commuter train line was integrated into the CTCUM network.
On January 1, 1996, responsibility for the commuter trains was transferred to the Agence métropolitaine de transport , a Quebec provincial government agency formed to coordinate all public transportation in the metropolitan Montreal region.

Services

Fares

Fares for bus and Metro services offered by the STM fall within the fare structure of the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain. The STM operates in Zone A, with the exception of Metro stations in Laval and Longueuil, which fall in Zone B. Passengers leaving the island of Montreal are expected to keep proof of payment of a paid fare that covers zones A and B.
Beyond standard ARTM fares, the STM area has the following particularities:
  • Bus line 747 YUL–Montreal–Trudeau Airport has a special price of that operates like a 24-hour all-modes Zone A. Other time-based all-modes fares are also accepted on this line.
  • Residents of the Agglomeration of Montreal aged 65 or older are entitled to a "Free 65+ All Modes A fare".
the STM does not accept cash at Metro stations ; only debit and credit cards can be used to purchase tickets. Children between 6 and 17 years old, students 18 and over and seniors aged 65 and over have access to reduced fares.
Tickets and cash fares allow an unlimited number of uninterrupted transfers in a given direction for up to 120 minutes. Tickets and passes are validated at entry in the front of the bus or in the Metro. Certain articulated buses allow rear entry with validators at the back of the vehicle.

Opus

On April 21, 2008, the STM unveiled the contactless smart card called Opus as a means of fare payment. In preparation for this new step in Montreal's public transportation network, turnstiles which incorporate the reader and automated vending machines had already been installed in Metro stations; buses had previously been fitted with new fare boxes that incorporated the card reader in order to ensure the uniformity of methods of payment across Montreal's transit network and that of its suburbs.
Costs to the STM related to the project were approximately, compared to the original estimated cost of some $100 million. The project was originally supposed to be implemented in 2006. In 2019, the STM announced plans to introduce improved Opus card readers on buses beginning in 2020 in order to enable all-door boarding and debit card payment.

Schedules and route information

Each stop on each route is assigned a number and some of these systems require a user to know the number.
In 2017 the STM introduced "iBus", a real-time GPS tracking system. It includes electronic signs inside buses showing the estimated time of arrival at upcoming stops and the busiest bus stops have electronic signs showing the estimated time of arrival of the next bus.
All 68 Metro stations are equipped with the MétroVision information screens which displays advertising, news headlines and weather information from MétéoMédia, as well as STM-specific information regarding service changes, service delays and information pertaining to using the system.