Unsure how to navigate the REM in Montreal? There's now an app for that

A new app is meant to make your commute on Montreal's new light-rail system easier and faster.

Called Remexit, it uses real-time train schedules to help commuters plan trips on the REM and get to nearby bus stops and metro lines.

It's a passion project from Charles Jeremy Colnet, who works in advertising and says he developed the app in his spare time.

On days when seconds count, he says you can use it to find out where exactly to stand on the platform in order to be directly in front of the exit when you arrive at your destination.

"The main goal is to save time and find the correct exit or have all the information that the REM isn't giving us," he said.

The free app also warns you about detours or delays, issues that plagued the REM's first week of service.

Colnet says those hiccups actually helped him in the development process.

"For me, it was it was good because I was able to see they were communicating the breakdowns, and I was able to implement everything right away, so like three days after that, my app was already up and running," he said.

Charles Jeremy Colnet developed an app called Remexit to help navigate Montreal's new light-rail system, the REM. (Supplied image)

Colnet says he designed the app with accessibility in mind, pointing to settings for people with reduced vision and information on elevator locations. You can also receive alerts when elevators are out of service.

And this isn't the first time Colnet took commuter woes into his own hands.

He previously developed another app called Metroexit, essentially the same tool designed for Montreal's metro system.

He is also not the only vigilante taking on the cause—a Concordia University student recently plastered signs at metro stations to direct them to the REM.

The trains started running on July 31, linking downtown Montreal's Gare Centrale station to the city of Brossard.

Colnet says he hasn't yet been in touch with the REM or STM about the apps.