U2 is in Montréal on July 8 and 9 and you’ll be there too: public transit is your best option

Montréal, June 14, 2011  –  Are you among the 160 000 people with a ticket to attend one of the two U2 concerts on July 8 and 9 and wondering about the best way to get to the Hippodrome de Montréal? The Société de transport de Montréal (STM), official transporter for these two concerts, has made every effort to ensure you get there and back safe and sound.

“The STM team has been hard at work for some weeks to develop a service offer that will guarantee the movement of a maximum number of people efficiently and safely under optimum operating conditions. Without doubt, the best way of getting to the site is by using public transit: the métro, the bus or the shuttle service specially set up for this event. By doing this, not only will ticket holders avoid traffic and parking problems, but they will be going green,” declared the Chairman of the STM’s Board of Directors, Mr. Michel Labrecque.

“In effect, making the return trip by public transit rather than by car for an event that will generate such high ridership is an action that has a major ecological impact. In fact, this simple act has the same benefit as a tree over a year. In the past year, trips taken by public transit had the same ecological benefit as close to 2000 times the forest on Mount Royal. Now imagine thousands of passengers … together for an even greener city,” concluded Mr. Labrecque, while inviting people to visit the U2 page at www.stm.info to find out more about the services being offered, transit fares, as well as other useful information.

Get your fare card

The STM has created a unique fare card that will be on sale as of June 27 at the McGill and Berri-UQAM métro stations, and at other stations as of July 4. For only $5, you’ll benefit from unlimited travel on STM buses and the métro the day of the concert (July 8 or 9). With its unique look, this card will be easier to validate at the turnstiles and will speed up your entry into the métro stations. Montrealers who already have valid STM monthly or individual fares on an OPUS card should note that these will also be accepted.

Plan your trips

Getting there:

The Namur métro station is located on the orange line. Use the trip calculator to determine the best route from your departure point.

A special service has been set up for the West Island:

• Line 470X - Express Pierrefonds (to the Côte-Vertu métro)
• Line 221X – Métrobus Lionel-Groulx o Serves the AMT stations (from Baie-d’Urfé to Dorval)

Commuter parking is available near the following métro stations:

• Radisson métro station, located in east-end Montréal, free of charge
• Longueuil-Université-De-Sherbrooke métro terminus, paid parking, located on Montréal’s South Shore
• Montmorency métro terminus, located in Laval

You can also leave your car at the Ruisseau train station parking lot:

• Shuttle to Côte-Vertu starting at 11:30 a.m.

Returning home:

Use the shuttles buses: numerous buses will be waiting for you near the Namur métro station to take you non-stop to the Jean-Talon métro station along a lane reserved expressly for the STM. This is an express service that will provide an easy transfer in all directions (Laval – North Shore, Longueuil – South Shore, central and eastern segments of the island).

Other special services have also been put in place:

• Shuttle to the Ruisseau train station (métro Côte-Vertu)
• Line 470X - Express Pierrefonds (Côte-Vertu métro)
• Line 221X – Métrobus Lionel-Groulx (Lionel-Groulx métro)

Of course, the De La Savane and Namur métro stations will be accessible, and métro service, extended on all lines, will run every four minutes on line 2 – Orange.

Stay informed by consulting our site regularly

The STM is making a Twitter account available to you especially for the event. By subscribing, you’ll be advised of the latest news regarding your trips, and on top of that, you’ll be the first to find out about shuttle availability, alternative routes, etc., the very night of the event.

To subscribe:

• Go to Twitter at this address: http://twitter.com/u2stminfo_en.

• Click on Parameters.

• Click on Mobile.

• Enter your cell phone number and push « Start ».

• Send an SMS message to 21212 with the word « Go ».

• Go to the Twitter profile for u2stminfo and click on the cell phone icon to received tweets from the STM directly to your cell phone.