Getting Around Montreal: The Complete No-Car Guide
Montreal is one of the few North American cities where not owning a car is the obvious choice rather than a sacrifice. The metro is fast and heated, the bus network is dense, the city is genuinely bikeable eight months a year, and central neighbourhoods are walkable. Here is how the whole system actually works — fares, lines, the winter reality, and the mistakes newcomers make in their first month.
One housing note first: where you live determines your commute more than any transit hack. Our rooms near the metro guide covers what proximity costs. Both Coliville properties sit on solid transit — The Gramercy downtown, The Sherwin in the NDG corridor, from C$160/week.
The Metro: Four Lines, Learn Them Once
- Orange — the workhorse. Loops up both sides of the island through downtown, the Plateau, Villeray, Rosemont. Most people's daily line.
- Green — east-west along Sainte-Catherine. Downtown, Verdun, Hochelaga.
- Blue — northern crosstown. Université-de-Montréal, Côte-des-Neiges, Jean-Talon, Saint-Michel.
- Yellow — three stations, links to Longueuil on the South Shore.
Hours: roughly 5:30am to 12:30am, a little later on Saturdays. Frequency: every 2–5 minutes at peak, 8–10 minutes late evening.
Berri-UQAM is where orange, green and yellow meet — the busiest interchange in the city and a useful mental anchor.
The metro is entirely underground and heated. In February that stops being a detail and becomes the reason you chose your apartment.
Fares and the OPUS Card
The OPUS card is the rechargeable transit card. Buy it at any metro station.
| Fare | Price |
|---|---|
| Single trip | $3.75 |
| 2 trips | $7.00 |
| 10 trips | $32.50 |
| Monthly pass | $102.50 |
| Monthly, reduced (students under 25, seniors 65+) | $58.75 |
| 24-hour unlimited | $12.75 |
| 3-day unlimited | $24.00 |
The reduced fare is worth the paperwork. If you're a student under 25, get a photo OPUS card — you need proof of enrolment and it's issued at designated metro stations (not all of them). It saves $524/year. Do it in your first week; the queues in September are long but they only get worse.
Fares cover metro and bus across the ARTM network, and transfers between them are included within a time window.
The Bus Network — Better Than You Think
Newcomers ignore buses and lose value. Montreal runs a 10-minutes-max frequency network on major corridors, and buses reach everywhere the metro doesn't.
Workhorse routes: 24 (Sherbrooke), 51 (Édouard-Montpetit/Côte-des-Neiges), 80 (Parc), 105 (Sherbrooke West/NDG), 165 (Côte-des-Neiges), 371 and the other night buses.
Night buses run roughly 1am–5am on major corridors, covering the metro's closed hours. If you go out on Saint-Laurent on a Saturday, this is how you get home.
Real talk: buses sit in traffic and snow; the metro doesn't. A bus-served area can be great value (our neighbourhood guide covers which), but check the route's frequency before you sign a lease on it.
BIXI: The Best Deal in the City
Montreal's bike-share. $99 for the entire season (roughly mid-April to mid-November), with unlimited trips up to 45 minutes. Stations everywhere in central neighbourhoods.
For anyone living in the Plateau, Mile End, Verdun or downtown, BIXI often beats the metro on door-to-door time for trips under 5km. Electric BIXIs cost a bit more per ride but flatten Montreal's real hills.
The city also has genuinely good protected bike lanes — the REV network on Saint-Denis and Peel among them.
Walking
Central Montreal is dense and walkable, and this is underrated as a transport mode. The Plateau to downtown is 25–30 minutes on foot. In summer it's the nicest way to move through the city.
The RÉSO — the underground city — connects 32 km of downtown: metro stations, malls, office towers, universities. In January you will use it constantly, and knowing it well is a genuine quality-of-life upgrade.
What Changes in Winter
This is the part no summer-arrival guide tells you:
- Metro becomes king. Underground, heated, unaffected by snow.
- Buses get slower — traffic plus snow. Add 10–15 minutes to your commute estimate from December to March.
- BIXI closes for the season (roughly mid-November to mid-April).
- Sidewalks vary wildly. Main streets get ploughed early; side streets take longer. Your walk to the metro is what matters — check whether it's on a main artery.
- Proper boots are a transport decision, not a fashion one. See our winter guide.
Don't Buy a Car
Worth being blunt. A car in central Montreal costs $500+/month once you count insurance, a parking permit (or paid parking), gas, maintenance, winter tires, and snow-removal towing — plus the winter parking bans that require you to move it at short notice or get towed.
Between metro, bus, BIXI and the occasional Communauto (car-share, pay per use), there is very little a car adds for a city-centre resident. If you need one occasionally, Communauto is the answer, not ownership.
To and From the Airport
The 747 bus runs 24/7 between Trudeau (YUL) and downtown for the price of a transit fare (a 24-hour pass, $12.75, covers it and works on the whole network that day). Journey is 45–70 minutes depending on traffic.
Taxi or Uber runs a flat $45–$55 to downtown.
FAQ
How much is a monthly transit pass in Montreal? $102.50 regular, $58.75 reduced for students under 25 and seniors — the reduced rate requires a photo OPUS card.
Do I need a car in Montreal? No. For central neighbourhoods it's an expensive liability, especially in winter.
How late does the metro run? Roughly 5:30am–12:30am, slightly later Saturdays. Night buses cover the gap.
Is BIXI worth it? At $99 for the whole season, it's the best transport value in the city if you live centrally.
How do I get from the airport? The 747 bus, 24/7, for the price of a fare. Or $45–$55 by taxi/Uber.
Can I use my phone to pay? The ARTM has been rolling out contactless and app-based payment. An OPUS card remains the most reliable option, especially for monthly passes.
The Bottom Line
Get an OPUS card in your first week, get the photo version if you're a student under 25, learn the four metro lines and your two nearest bus routes, and buy a BIXI pass if you're arriving before November. That's the whole system — and it's why living without a car here is genuinely easy.
Living near good transit matters more than any of this. Coliville — furnished rooms from C$160/week in well-connected neighbourhoods, everything included.