Montreal Is Getting 6 River Shuttle Routes This Summer Including A Free One

Montrealers will be able to cruise on the Saint Lawrence once again this summer. Six river shuttle routes will transport commuters and recreational travellers between Montreal Island, Île Sainte-Hélène, Île Charron (home of the Parc national des Îles-de-Boucherville) and the South Shore this year, the regional transit authority, the ARTM, announced recently.

One of those routes, between Montreal's Mercier neighbourhood and the South Shore municipality of Boucherville will be free all season to draw drivers away from the half-closed, under-construction Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Tunnel.

The other five routes connect:

• the Montreal Old Port and Boucherville,
• the Montreal Old Port, Montreal's Pointe-aux-Trembles neighbourhood and the South Shore municipality of Varennes,
• the Montreal Old Port and Île Sainte-Hélène,
• the Montreal Old Port, Île Sainte-Hélène and Longueuil,
• and Mercier and Île-Charron.

The Old Port–Boucherville, Old Port–Boucherville, Old Port–Pointe-aux-Trembles–Varennes, Old Port–Île Sainte-Hélène–Longueuil, and Mercier–Boucherville routes are all scheduled to launch on Monday, May 15, except the ARTM says there won't be stops at Île Sainte-Hélène and Varennes until later in the season due to spring flooding.

The Old Port–Île Sainte-Hélène route launches on Friday, June 16, and the Mercier–Île Charron route launches on Saturday, June 17.

The multi-year river shuttle pilot project has seen increasing success, including record ridership of 256,000 passengers in 2022, according to ARTM Director General Benoît Gendron. Just two years ago, there was only one route.

Officials are also touting better wayfinding and trip planning with new signage at docks and schedules available through Google Maps and the Chrono app.

"The pilot project is a testament to our commitment to improving sustainable transportation options to complement existing public transit services and better meet the ever-changing travel needs of citizens," Gendron said in a press release.

"River shuttles allow citizens to benefit from significant travel time savings, particularly between the South Shore and Montreal Island."