Montreal transit users will be able to use their smartphones to board the metro, bus in 2025

Transit users will be able to use their smartphones to board the metro and bus network in summer 2025, according to the ARTM. (Daniel J. Rowe/CTV News)

Montreal transit riders can expect to use their smartphones to board the bus and metro next year, the regional transit authority said Thursday.

The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) said this new functionality will be available on a gradual basis beginning in summer 2025 as part of its plan to digitize the OPUS cards. Currently, users can only tap a physical card at the turnstiles to use fares they have purchased.

A call for tenders is expected to go out in the coming weeks. 

The ability to pay directly with a bank card will not be possible next summer. Users will have to wait until 2026 for that payment option. 

However, that function is already possible in Laval as part of a pilot project. The ARTM said Thursday it is expanding the pilot project to certain Exo lines on Montreal's North Shore. More specific details are expected by fall 2024. 

The new functions are from the ARTM's Concerto team, which is responsible for modernizing the OPUS system with a $140-million budget. Last April, the transit authority launched an update that allows users to purchase fares and load them on the physical OPUS cards using their smartphones.

Since the announcement, almost 500,000 transactions have been completed on mobile devices.

Transit fares going up July 1

The ARTM announced these upcoming features in a news release on Thursday reminding users that transit fares are set to go up on July 1.

Fares are increasing by an average of 3 per cent under a new fare structure announced last April.

Here is a summary of the changes:

Monthly passes:

• Zone A (Island of Montreal): $100, up from $97
• Zone AB (Montreal to Laval or Longueuil): $160, up from $155
• Zone ABC (Montreal to North and South Shores): $196, up from $190
• Zone ABCD (includes areas outside the ARTM territory): $271, up from $263

Single fares:

A single bus or metro pass for the Island of Montreal will remain the same price, at $3.75. The 10-ticket package, however, will go up by 75 cents to $33.25.

A single fare for travel in Zone AB, ABC and ABCD is going up by 25 cents each, to $4.75, $7 and $9.50, respectively.

Reduced-fare monthly passes will also go up. As of July 1, Zone A will cost $60, Zone AB will cost $96, Zone ABC will cost $118 and Zone ABCD will cost $163.

With files from CTV Montreal's Amy Luft