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    1. Alt. Mobility
    2. Shared Mobility
    3. Bicycle & Scooter Sharing

    STM launching pilot project April 15 to allow bikes greater access to the Metro network

    April 13, 2023
    Running until Nov. 15, the pilot project will help determine whether bike access to the Métro can be improved while maintaining the comfort and safety of all customers.
    Related To: Societe de transport de Montreal (STM)
    STM
    On April 15, the STM is launching a pilot project allowing cyclists to bring their bikes into the Métro network during extended hours.
    On April 15, the STM is launching a pilot project allowing cyclists to bring their bikes into the Métro network during extended hours.

    On April 15, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is launching a pilot project allowing cyclists to bring their bikes into the Métro network during extended hours. Once the pilot launches, the following new terms will enter effect:

    Extended weekday hours

    • Monday to Friday: Métro opening–7 a.m., 9:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.–Métro closing
    • Weekends and holidays: All day

    All-day access in summer

    From May 20 to August 20, bikes will be allowed all day, seven days a week, except for occasional restrictions due to high-traffic events.

    Allowed in all train cars

    • Bikes will now be allowed in all Métro train cars, with a limit of two bikes per car.
    • Change of habits: The STM now recommends cyclists avoid the head train car, as it is to be prioritized for use by school groups, daycare services and people with certain functional limitations.
    • When entering or exiting the train, there will be a limit of one bike per door to ensure good customer flow.

    Relaxed event restrictions

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

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

    Running until Nov. 15, 2023, the pilot project will help determine whether bike access to the Métro 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 Métro
    • Customer opinion
    • Coexistence with customers with functional limitations, strollers, pet dogs, service dogs, suitcases, etc.

    “Combining bike and Métro travel means combining agility over short distances with speed over long ones,” says Jean-François Rheault, president and director general of Vélo Québec. “Nothing beats a bike for travelling those first or last few kilometers (miles) between your start or end point and the nearest Métro station. Congratulations to the STM for demonstrating openness and agility with this pilot project to considerably expand access for bikes in the Métro. I am confident that transit-using cyclists will be courteous and prove that allowing them more space in Métro cars is beneficial for the entire transit ecosystem.”