Montreal's water shuttle ships out with expanded service to as far away as Varennes

Geneviève Blanchette took the day off work Monday and hopped on a water shuttle on its way to Montreal, her daughter in tow.

She wanted to relax and catch a film, she said, and the boat, part of the region's public transit network, was the perfect option for getting to the city from Montreal's South Shore.

"You have no car to drive. No traffic. No parking to pay for and try to find," she said.

Blanchette was among the first to take advantage of the water bus as it was launched for the season, and officials have announced they're expanding the service to cover a greater distance over an extended season with longer daily hours.

The shuttles will stay in operation through mid-October, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) said.

Benoît Gendron, head of the ARTM, said the shuttles drew nearly 256,000 passengers last year. The service is still being operated as a pilot project this season, but it will now include a link between Pointe-aux-Trembles and Varennes, northeast of Montreal island.

"We start earlier than last year, and we are going to go later in the season," said Gilles Tanguay, director of operations for Croisières Navark, the company contracted by ARTM to run the water shuttle service between Montreal, Boucherville, Varennes and Longueuil's Île Charron.

"More days of operation, and the days are longer. We finish later and start earlier."

Another company, Croisières AML, operates the route between Île Sainte-Hélène, Longueuil and Montreal's Old Port.

Free service between Boucherville, Montreal

Most of the routes operated by Navark are running seven days a week with extended hours and departures every 45 minutes. 

Tanguay said the water shuttle between Boucherville and the Montreal borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is also absolutely free.

The first departure is at 5:45 a.m. from Monday to Friday. On weekends, service begins at 10:15 a.m. from Boucherville and 11 a.m. from Montreal. 

That free shuttle service will run until 9:30 p.m. between June 17 and Sept. 4. Before June 17 and from Sept. 5 to Oct. 15, the service will be available until about 7:15 p.m.

"The river shuttle between Boucherville and Montreal is one of the many public transit mitigation measures offered to citizens affected by the work on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel," said Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault in a news release.

"Its popularity last year proves that the service meets a real need. Every trip that can be made other than by car counts."

Weekends, holidays only to Île Charron

The exception to the seven-day-a-week schedule is the route between Quai du parc de la Promenade Bellerive in Montreal and Longueuil's Île Charron, which will run only on weekends and public holidays.

Disembarking at Île Charron gives shuttle passengers access to the public park facilities there and at Îles-de-Boucherville provincial park.

As for the routes served by AML, there's one between the Old Port, Île Sainte-Hélène and Longueuil's Plaisance Port that will be in operation until Oct. 15, seven days a week, starting at 9 a.m.

There will also be a weekend and holiday express shuttle to Plaisance Port from June 16 to Sept. 4, starting at 9:30 a.m.

On both AML routes, the water shuttles depart every 60 minutes.

Shuttle tickets are $5.50 each way, but free for kids up to age 11. Opus cards loaded with a monthly subscription that covers zones A, B and C can be used for the service.

More information will be available on Chrono, an application that shows all public transit options in the region. Google Maps will be helping people plan their water shuttle routes as well this year, the ARTM says.

Due to flooding, some routes originally scheduled to start May 15 are not yet in operation. For example, stops in Varennes and Île Sainte-Hélène aren't available for now.

Dwayne Spark, who took the ferry Monday, said he enjoys the commute by boat to Montreal's Old Port when the weather is nice.

"You take a little boat ride and relax, with no traffic and stuff like that," said Spark. "I am very much into boating, so I am into the ride. It's a different way to see the city, as well."