Oh… apparently it’s only high frequency if you’re in Montréal. The frequency drops the second you leave the city 🤬🤬🤬

Don’t fucking classify the line as high frequency on the stops where it isn’t.

I think a complaint should be filed with my city so that they replace that service. Still shocked no one ran on improving public transportation!

No wonder people complain when they raise their prices.

As much as I rant on the LRT, at least it really works on speed (not frequency).

I really wish it wasn’t that expensive to take it (also $205/month)

The real test will be tomorrow, when I head to work and back.

So far, today’s been a very frustrating experience.

@jfmezei I’m pretty sure exo and RTL use mixed-zone billing now that I think of it.

I understand exo can pick up and drop off at any stop in the GMA. And RTL has buses going to zone C (and back).

@jfmezei And the STM allows to do the same on the 439.

Really, the only one that does not allow it is the STL.

@EdwinG Do the STL buses 52-252 stop at the same platforms as the 439 rapibus? 9or doe they stop on conventional sidewalks and you then have to cross to middle of roads to catch the rapibus?

@jfmezei The STL and exo lines stop at the BRT stops.

I don’t know if they allow boarding at those stops though. They don’t seem to allow so at regular stops.

@EdwinG Southbound STL buses shouldn't allow boarding on the island (and if they did would still charge a B fare). But northbound, would allow boarding for people going to Laval (and charge a B fare).

@jfmezei I don’t know.

I haven’t seen what’s written on the bus sign. We were driving away when I saw the routes mentioned.

For charging zones B (and C), they use the same system the STM does. And the latter are capable of mixed zone charging; the BRT 439 invoices you a zone B when in Laval and a zone A anywhere on the Island of Montréal.

It would be surprising that exo, RTL and STL don’t have those capabilities.

It’s probably political and not technical/technological.

@EdwinG
Looking at EXO bus routes from Vaudreuil, some go to the Island (McDonald College, and REM station). Those gong to REM station have no other stops on island, so bus at REM station could require C fare.

But those going to MacDonald college has 1 or 2 stops before terminus.

EXO *could assume* that anyone who came in to island would have only C fares on card so when boarding in Montreal, a C fare would be drawn. But machine might accept A fares for someone pretending to travel 1 stop.

@jfmezei I can confirm, they have the logic to bill all the zones.

I was billed a zone B ticket from Laval to Montréal CBD. I can’t buy a zone C fare; it’s incompatible with my OPUS card (not listed).

@EdwinG Ever since they "locked" OPUS cards to a zone (opening of REM), if you have an AB card, you can only load AB fares on it, so obviously any machine , even the metro, will draw an AB fare from it. It can't draw an A fare since there are none.

The question becomes if someone with an A opus card with only A fares loaded can board an STL bus in Montreal to travel on it. (if so, it implies honour system once you cross bridge you are expected to have a paid a B fare.

@jfmezei As it stands today, if they don’t allow alighting… no.

It would require that you can alight in Montréal. Otherwise, if you have a zone A ticket in Montréal and you get fare controlled… you will get a fine.

@EdwinG @jfmezei not sure if it's relevant but there is also a special bus-only fare which covers zones A, B and C (not D!) as long as you only take buses.

@dhd6 @jfmezei Good point. I did know it exists. I simply ran out of characters to mention it 😆

Also, it doesn’t seem to exist in weekly or monthly versions? Chrono doesn’t offer it at all.

@EdwinG @dhd6 Chrono has a quirk: it does not have the ability to delete expired fare from your card.

Say you have :
-monthly pass
-10 tickets (expired)
-daily (expired)
-evening (expired)
Chrono wont offer you a weekend pass because it would be unable to load it on card because all 4 "registers" are loaded. But a vending machine will have no problem and will delete 1 of the unused registers to make way for new fare.

Monthly Bus ABC is offered:
(Monthly C and D also available at $119)

@jfmezei It’s also absent on the fare vending machines.

Picture #1 and 2: With an OPUS card in
Picture #3: Buying an OPUS card

@dhd6

@dhd6 @EdwinG surprisingly , after scanning my A Opus card, choosing the C zone for fares (which it shouldn’t have allowed) Chrono did offer me the bus fares.

@jfmezei @dhd6 So weird. Because I have a “standard” AB card and I don’t see that 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

@jfmezei @EdwinG @dhd6 Good tip! So basically if you end up unable to load a fare using the app for this reason, you just need to do it once via a machine and you’ll be good for that date afterwards?

@heliomass @EdwinG @dhd6 Correct. The OPUS cards has storage for only 4 types of fares.

UPDATE: just checked, and it appears OPUS can now zap unused fares because I have card with 4 fare types, and it offers me all fares.

Months ago, or last year, Chrono didn't offer the fare I needed and was puzzled, and was able to load it at the train station machine without problem. Called STM and they confirmed Chrono couldn't delete fares when card already had 4.

@jfmezei @heliomass @EdwinG this is totally nuts! Luckily I'm a strictly 10 passages ABC kind of guy in love with a 10 passages ABC girl, living in a 10 passages ABC world (plastic, fantastic)

@dhd6 😂😂

Now I have the song stuck in my head… and I’m normally listening to a podcast 😅

@jfmezei @heliomass

@EdwinG Wasn't aware the 439 went to Laval !

It is normal to charge a B fare when you board a bus bound for Laval. But if a bus from Laval has 3 stops in Montreal, should it really bother with the logic of charging a A fare if person boards at first stop in montreal to get off at 3rd/terminus without going to Laval. This steals revenue fro STM. (cabotage).

@jfmezei The answer is yes, it does.

exo allows so. You can take the 498 between its stops and the north shore and CBD Terminal (TCV).

If you get on in Laval, it charges a zone B. In Montréal? Zone A.

I took it during the winter when the LRT was offline because of snow.

@EdwinG
😲 that much?!!

Anyone who isn't working can't afford that.

@TrueNorthSpice People that don’t own a car pay less.

That amount is really everything I pay in a year for public transportation divided by 12.

The monthly subscription in itself is $170, plus property tax (or equivalent in rent).

@EdwinG
"170.00" a month is still beyond most unemployed and disabled folks means.

Public transportation should be free.

@EdwinG
1- OK, so if you pay $205 it means you are 99.5% across the Thousand Island River and almost in Zone C. (Zone C monthly is $206)
Laval is B and $170.

2-You need to learn to plan your life around public transit. If you know there is a bus at noon and next one at 16:00, then you plan your day to leave at noon to catch that bus.

And with experience, you get to know whether buses arrive at your stop on time, ahead or always late.

@jfmezei I left with *ample* time (>30 min) to get to the stop in time.

Also, $205 is actually the real price I pay, which includes the monthly subscription ($170) plus all the taxes that are taken from me ($400+ yearly). Zone C would be $248/month.

@EdwinG If your buses can be tracked real time in Chrono or other, then that is what you have on as you leave the house to guide you on how fast you need to run to make the bus stop before the bus.

@jfmezei Only some buses are trackable.

I looked my bus stop, only the departure after next is real-time. The immediate next doesn’t seem to be real-time at all.

Also, my first method was a train. Not a bus 😅
Buses are more frequent (once every hour or so on weekends, train schedule-based on weekdays)

@EdwinG So it's the train that closed the doors on you? If so, I know the Alstom conductor, We had him on our line a while back and he did that to a whole bunch of people who were waiting on the other platform and ran under to the other platform once train was obviously not on track EXO had told us to wait on. He eventuallty re-opened the doors to let us in and I had a chat with himl he was adament that he must keep the schedule and not wait for late passengers. Bad attitude.

@jfmezei The train was the first one. The second was a bus (STM 439) when I was transferring.

It left as I was trying to find how to enter - which was quite obvious… The bus stops and a washroom are the only things there. The entrance is opposite to where one would expect.