Dans la Gazette
If you’ve taken a bus anywhere in the West Island, you have probably found yourself waiting at the bus loop of the Fairview Pointe-Claire shopping mall.
For decades, the loop served as a hub for dozens of buses that span the western part of the island from Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue to St-Laurent. As a result, West Island transit users have spent hours waiting at the terminus.
It’s also one of the few spots in the area where West Islanders can get customer service from the STM, including obtaining new OPUS cards to replace those that have been lost.
Starting Monday, the loop will be moved permanently just a few hundred metres northwest to the REM’s Fairview-Pointe-Claire station. The existing bus waiting area will be demolished and integrated back into the parking lot in the coming weeks.
Speaking to The Gazette in February, STM planners explained that Fairview will still play an important role as a hub for West Island commuters, but that the entire network is undergoing a major reshuffling to accommodate the new REM.
The reshuffle frees up many buses that were previously stuck going downtown. Now many of those buses will go on shorter routes toward REM stations.
While most people will see their travel times unchanged by the rejig, about 18 per cent of riders will see their travel times decrease by five minutes or more. Only six per cent will see their travel times increase, according to the STM’s analyses. A total of 88 per cent of users will be able to get to a REM station without transferring buses.
It’s expected that the REM will make the trip to the McGill station downtown in about 25 minutes.