My Alerts 
New card readers will be activated and tested on some buses of the 139 Pie-IX bus line next week.
Montréal, September 11, 2020 – Despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic, STM teams have continued installing new card readers on buses. The project will reach an important milestone next week when the new readers will be activated on six 139 Pie-IX buses from September 14 to 18. This will be the final stage of testing and the last step before official deployment. If the testing goes well, the rest of the readers will be activated gradually by winter.
Clients boarding one of these buses next week may notice that the screens of the new card readers are on. If they are using an OPUS or L’occasionnelle card, they will be able to tap it to validate their fare at either the front or the back door. If paying with cash or a magnetic fare card, it will be necessary to validate as usual, at the front door only.
The new card readers will speed up fare validation and boarding times on buses and are better from an accessibility standpoint. Eventually, the project will also allow the STM to move toward more advanced technology, such as direct fare payment by bank card or smart phone, which the STM hopes to implement around 2023.