Route 480 to link downtown and L’Île-des-Sœurs’ Pointe-Nord

The final decision relating to this project should have been approved last night (April 9) by the STM, but Mr. Trudel was in a position to release the information sous embargo in the beginning of the week. The new bus route will serve about 1,300 commuters, the majority being Bell Canada employees who will be moving to the company’s new headquarters in L'Île-des-Sœurs. The bus of route 480 will also be used by employees of City of Montreal offices located in Brennan Street as well as those employees of Cité du Multimédia.

Route 480 will enable connections to all suburban trains originating from Lucien-L’Allier station and central station, as well as from metro 2 (orange line) and several bus routes. In the morning, the bus will leave from the bus stop located at the intersection of de la Montagne and de la Gauchetière streets. The bus will make five stops: at the intersections of Mansfield and René-Lévesque Boulevard, University and de la Gauchetière, Nazareth and Wellington streets, Nazareth and Brennan streets and the Pointe-Nord of L'Île-des-Sœurs. The entire trip is estimated to last about 15 minutes.

It is essential to note that this new service will be a one-way operation. In the morning, route 480 will leave downtown Montreal and will finish its trip at the northern tip of L’île des Sœurs; during afternoon rush hour, the trip will start from the northern tip of the island going towards downtown. Busses will be scheduled every 10 to 15 minutes during morning rush hour and at the end of the day: from 6h30 to 9h30 and at 15h15 to 18h30. Route 480 will operate Monday to Friday (except during holidays).

Mr. Trudel wanted to mention that studies are ongoing at the STM in order to include routes 12 and 168 to this new service. These adjustments can be achieved when the re-structuring of the road network in the entry and exit points of the island is completed. It will also take into account the residential development in the Pointe-Nord area which should begin in the next few months.