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Frequently asked questions - STM-INFO
The transition from Telbus to the AUTOBUS system is virtually complete. All bus stop panels have been replaced, and the former telephone numbers no longer appear on any of our schedule information tools. All transfers from Telbus numbers to AUTOBUS, as well as the conversion feature for the new bus stop codes, will all be deactivated by mid-December. Transit users were quick to adopt the new system and now use the new bus codes.
Absolutely. A new search function enables you to obtain the code for the main stops on each route. These checkpoints are the same as those featured on the Planibus timetables. Item 4 on the AUTOBUS menu accesses the search function, but for that you need to know your bus route number.
The search option only provides information relating to the main bus stops along a route. For example, the 372 Jean-Talon nighttime route has over 100 stops going in one direction ! For the same reason that only a limited number of checkpoints are featured on Planibus timetables, only the main bus stops are available from the system, otherwise your call would take much more time.
Not at all. In fact, the system has a faster response time. As there are a lot more telephone lines, you no longer get a busy signal. The first few times you use the system, your call may take a little longer because you will be listening to the entire menu. However, contrary to the former Telbus system, you will not have to listen to all the messages. By pressing the number for the next step, you will skip over the messages you do not want to hear. Thousands of regular AUTOBUS users have quickly figured out the new system and easily obtain the schedule for the next three buses in under 45 seconds. You must however wait to hear the beginning of a message before pressing the number for the next option. (Please refer to the detailed AUTOBUS menu for a list of all options.)
With TELBUS, a call lasted 35 seconds on average... if you got a line on your first try ! Before, you had to listen to all messages. Now, when you press the number for the next option, you skip ahead to the next step, unless the STM includes a message relating to an emergency, which requires you to hear it. If your stop is served by several bus routes, and you know your route number as well as your bus stop code (and there is no specific message for your bus route), it will take you less than 45 seconds to get your schedule information. If your stop is served by a single bus route, you can obtain your information in under 35 seconds.
A general message now informs you of any detours caused by a special event along your bus route. If more detailed information is available from the system, you will hear a message saying "Press 1 for more information about the detour."
These schedules are particularly useful for people with reduced mobility or using a wheelchair. Previously, the schedules provided were only for low-floor vehicles travelling on wheelchair-accessible routes. Those two types of transit users are now handled separately. If your mobility is reduced for any reason (for example, you are elderly, are accompanied by very young children, using crutches, or just carrying packages), you can now obtain the schedules for all low-floor buses. If you use a wheelchair, other factors will determine which service is available to you: the routes must first be accessible to wheelchairs; bus stop zones must also be clear and vehicle equipment functional for wheelchairs to board. Information for this clientele will be more specific.
The steps required for that information will depend on what time you are calling or planning on travelling. Let's say you are going out Friday evening and returning after midnight. To you, it is probably still Friday, when in fact the day changes at midnight. With AUTOBUS , if you are calling ahead to plan your return trip, you must ask for the Saturday schedules, if you want the schedules starting aroung 12:30 a.m. For schedule information relating to nighttime routes (those bearing a 300 number, identified by a crescent moon symbol and running after the métro is closed), if you request the schedules for another day, the system will specify "For Friday night to Saturday schedules". Remember that with AUTOBUS, each day begins at midnight. So if you call Thursday afternoon for schedules for nighttime routes (numbered 350 to 380), and choose the option for " the next three buses ", you will hear a message saying " service will resume tomorrow at... ", to take into account the change in day.
When you call the AUTOBUS number, you now access the system for bus schedules. From now on, if you want travel directions, you must call the STM-INFO number and choose option 7 to speak with an agent from the information centre. However, the STM anticipated a period of adjustment for clients, so the system will be temporarily transferring your call to STM-INFO without you having to hang up and call again. Please read the STM-INFO and AUTOBUS menus carefully to find out all the different information you can obtain through this telephone service.
Each telephone is different. Please consult your User manual or contact your telephone service provider. You must program a pause between each selected option : that way, you give the system the time to skip ahead to the next message. Most telephones can store a maximum number of characters in each memory key. For example, to obtain the times " for the next three buses ", you must program 288-6287, Pause, 8, Pause, 1, Pause, 1, Pause, the 5-digit bus stop code followed by #, the bus route number followed by #. If your stop is served by a single bus route, there is no need to enter the bus route number.
You are dialing too fast ! Let the message begin before pressing the key corresponding to that option. As soon as you hear " Ici AUTOBUS! ", press " 1 " once. When you hear " Your opinion... ", press " 1 " again. The system allows you to skip messages by pressing the key for the next option, but only once the message has begun to play. If you press the keys too quickly, you will end up in the Survey section, because the bus stop codes and the old TELBUS numbers begin with 5, which corresponds to the Survey option.
You must have noticed that the list was being read by a robot-like voice; it is the speech systhesis component of our system. In order for the system to answer you, it must query the database and extract all the information relating to all the stops along a route. Once retrieved, it becomes a single message that cannot be interrupted. If you want your schedules immediately, you have to hang up and call AUTOBUS again. Some bus routes do not have very many stops, so you can get your information rather quickly, bus most have about four check point stops in each direction.
The concept behind the bus stop codes is metropolitan-wide. Indeed, to standardize the various systems, transit authorities have chosen the principle of information at bus stops. Perhaps one day you will be able to call the Réseau de transport de Longueuil and obtain schedule information for a bus route serving Montreal.
There are fewer steps to go through and fewer messages to listen to, so your calls will be considerably shorter.
The website currently contains the planned service schedules, as you would find in the printed Planibus timetables, whereas the daily schedules provided by AUTOBUS reflect any last minute changes (e.g. a cancelled departure) or other events (e.g. construction detour) that could disrupt service. However, remember that when you request schedule information for up to seven days in advance, AUTOBUS will provide the same planned service timetables as the website.
If you are calling for schedules for within
the next seven days, it is perfectly normal for the system to fail to
recognize the code for a new bus route or bus stop, because the new service
is not yet officially operational. New codes are only activated on the same
day the new service is introduced, at one minute past midnight. Prior to
that, because there is no schedule information available when you are
calling, the system simply informs you there is no service at this time.
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| I don't have a touch-tone telephone. How will I be able to get my information? |
Very few Montreal residents do not have a touch-tone telephone and still use a rotary phone. Still, calls from rotary telephones are transferred to an agent who provides the information directly to clients, from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekends and holidays.
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| You invite people to call STM-INFO for all transit-related information. So why do you not always provide information about métro disruptions? |
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| In the summer, I sometimes want to take the métro with my bicycle. I was refused access on a few occasions because of special events. Where can I get this information? |
Call STM-INFO ! Then press 2 (MÉTRO option), followed by option 3 " Information related to transporting bicycles ". The information is regularly updated throughout the cycling season. You can also find this information on our Web site, as well as in the métro newspaper when it involves large-scale events advertised well ahead of time.
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| If I make mistakes and can't find my way around in the system, what should I do? |
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| If I dialed STM-INFO and then pressed " 1 " to obtain schedule information, can I then return to the STM-INFO menu to get information about work being carried out in my métro station? |
Yes. Your call is transferred to AUTOBUS , but you are still within the STM-INFO menu.
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| I read in the Métro newspaper that schedules from the AUTOBUS system will be available on the website. How soon will that be? |
We are currently completing the development phase for this new application, and we expect to introduce it in Fall 2004. Once available, the schedule information will also be updated – as with AUTOBUS – to take into account a number of variables, such as cancelled departures, delays and detours. And the website will give you even more! All at once, you will have the times for the next six buses, as well as schedule information for all bus routes serving that stop, instead of only one route at a time with the telephone, including nighttime service!
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