Exo, stylized as exo and officially known as Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM; ), is a public transport system in Greater Montreal, including the Island of Montreal, Laval (Île Jésus), and communities along both the North Shore of the Mille-Îles River and the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River. It was created on June 1, 2017, taking over Montreal's commuter rail services from the former Agence métropolitaine de transport as well as bus and paratransit services from the various suburban municipal and intermunicipal transit agencies. Exo operates the second busiest such system in Canada after Toronto's GO Transit. Exo's territory is concurrent with Montreal Metropolitan Community limits, with the addition of the Kahnawake First Nations reserve and the city of Saint-Jérôme. It serves a population of approximately 4 million people who make more than 174,000 trips daily in the 4258.97 km2 area radiating from Montreal.

Partners in transport

Exo's parent agency, the (ARTM), is charged with transportation planning for the Greater Montreal area. Exo operates commuter train service as well as the bus service outside of the three main population centres of Greater Montreal. In these areas service is provided by the on the Island of Montreal, the in Laval, and the for the urban agglomeration of Longueuil.

Commuter rail

Fares

As of July 1, 2022, the (ARTM) which is responsible for the distribution of fares in the Greater Montreal area has designated 4 zones on its territory A, B, C and D. The Island of Montreal is under zone A. Laval and Longueuil are part of zone B. The northern and southern suburbs of Montreal (off-island) are part of zone C. Zone D is territory not under the authority of the ARTM but it is still responsible for the distribution of fares there as well. If a trip starts and ends on the island of Montreal, an all modes zone A fare is required. This includes all modes of public transit (i.e. bus, Metro, REM or Exo). If a trip leaves zone A (Montreal) then a fare for the corresponding zone is required. For example, a trip between Montreal and Laval will require an all modes AB fare. Fares are valid for 120 minutes after the first validation. There are no fare gates; instead, a proof-of-payment system is used, where fare inspectors randomly check tickets All fares are available in a cheaper "reduced" category for children 6 to 17 years old, and seniors that are 65 or older. Additionally, monthly passes are available in a "student" category (which is cheaper than the regular fare but more than the reduced fare) for students 18 to 25 years old. To benefit from the reduced or student fares, the passenger must have a reduced-fare Opus card with their name and photo on it. Travel on the commuter trains is free for anyone 5 and under as well as a maximum of 5 children 6 to 11 years old per person 14 and up traveling with them. Following the introduction of the Opus, smart card system tickets and passes are now sold by automated vending machines at each station. The machines accept cash, credit and debit cards. Purchases of more than $80 must be paid by cards. Tickets and passes are also sold at a few stores near the suburban stations. Consult the full list on the RTM's website. Passes are valid for a calendar month, and are normally on sale from the 20th of the previous month to the 5th of their month of validity. Passengers can also subscribe to OPUS+ which automatically debits the passenger's bank account or credit card and adds the pass to the passenger's Opus card.

History

A regional transit agency in Greater Montreal was first created by the Quebec government in 1995 with the, with the mandate of developing, coordinating and promoting transit throughout the area; improve and develop the commuter rail network, and; encourage integration of different modes of transit. On December 20, 1996, the AMT took over responsibility of the commuter trains from the Société de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal (STCUM). On June 1, 2017, the AMT was disbanded in a reorganization of metropolitan transit authorities. A new agency, the (RTM) was created to be responsible for operating commuter rail and suburban transit services. In May 2018, the RTM adopted the Exo brand (stylized exo, all-lowercase), to represent the sub- and exurban nature of its service area.

Buses

Exo runs multiple bus lines through its subsidiaries serving Montréal suburbs. Exo operates all commuter bus services for the North Shore and South Shore suburbs, excepting the cities of Longueuil and Laval, which have their own transit agencies.

Ridership

In 2018, Exo carried 174,710 passengers on a typical weekday — 77,210 on the trains and 97,500 by commuter bus, including adapted transport.

Future projects

Vaudreuil–Hudson Line

To increase service on the Vaudreuil-Hudson Line, there are plans to add dedicated tracks for commuter trains. The current tracks are used by Exo under permission from Canadian Pacific Kansas City. On July 1, 2010, service to Rigaud was discontinued, due to Rigaud's reluctance to pay annual fees; the rail line now ends at Hudson.

Candiac Line

The possibility of extending the Candiac Line to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Saint-Philippe was examined by the Quebec Government in 2014. In 2016, the study's final report rejected that option, citing longer travel times by train for people in the area.