View source for Exo (public transit)

{{Short description|Regional public transport system in Greater Montreal, Quebec}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox public transit
| name = Exo
| image = Exo.svg
| imagesize = 150px
| image2 = {{Multiple image
|perrow = 2
|total_width = 270
|image1 = AMTSBLG.JPG
|alt1 = Photo of a train in a station
|caption1 = 
|image2 = Exobus1.jpg
|caption2 = 
|alt2 = Photo of a bus
|border = infobox
}}
|caption2 = An outbound train on the [[Mont-Saint-Hilaire line]] (left); An Exo commuter bus in Downtown Montreal (right)
| marks = EXO
| host = {{ubl|[[Canadian National Railway]]|[[Canadian Pacific Kansas City]]|{{lang|fr|i=no|Réseau de transport métropolitain}}}}
| locale = [[Greater Montreal]]
| transit_type = {{ubl|[[Commuter rail]]|[[Bus service]]|[[Paratransit]]|[[Demand-responsive transport|On-demand transit]]}}
| headquarters = [[Complexe Maisonneuve#700 de La Gauchetière|700 rue de la Gauchetière]], Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| chief_executive = Sylvain Yelle
| began_operation = {{ubl|1859 (first section)|January 1, 1996 (as AMT)|{{Start date|2017|06|01}} (as ''{{langr|fr|Réseau de transport métropolitain}}''/Exo)<ref name="LaPresse-2017-05-15">{{Cite news |url=https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/chroniques/jean-philippe-decarie/201705/14/01-5097938-lobjectif-de-la-mobilite-integree.php |title=L'objectif de la mobilité intégrée |date=2017-05-15 |language=fr |trans-title=The Objective of Integrated Mobility |newspaper=La Presse |access-date=2024-09-03 |last1=Décarie |first1=Jean-Philippe }}</ref>}}
| lines = {{ubl|5 (commuter rail)|219 (bus)}}<ref name="Rapport_annuel_2023">{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/Media/Default/pdf/a-propos/medias-publications/publications/EXO_RA2023%20-%20VF_Accessible_revBON.pdf |title=Rapport annuel 2023 |language=fr |trans-title=2023 Annual Report |access-date=2024-08-27 }}</ref>
| stations = {{ubl|52 rail stations|11 bus terminuses}}<ref name="Rapport_annuel_2023"/>
| vehicles = {{ubl|41 locomotives|206 passenger cars (2024) <ref name="Rapport_annuel_2024">{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/Media/Default/pdf/a-propos/medias-publications/publications/exo-ra2024.pdf |title=Rapport annuel 2024 |language=fr |trans-title=2024 Annual Report |access-date=2025-04-25 }}</ref>}}
| annual_ridership = {{ubl|16,613,172 (bus)| 7,051,965 (commuter rail) | 736,451 (paratransit) |90,725 (on demand) }} (2024)<ref name="Rapport_annuel_2024"/>
| operator = 
| website = {{official URL}}
| alt = 
| caption = 
| owner = 
| area served = 
| line_number = 
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| map = 
| map_state = 
| map_name = 
}}

'''Exo''', stylized as '''exo''' and officially known as the '''{{lang|fr|i=no|Réseau de transport métropolitain}}''' ({{IPA|fr|ʁezo də tʁɑ̃spɔʁ metʁɔpɔlitɛ̃}}, '''RTM'''; {{langx|en|Metropolitan Transportation Network}}), is a [[public transport|public transport system]] in [[Greater Montreal]], including the [[Island of Montreal]], [[Laval, Quebec|Laval]] ([[Île Jésus]]), and communities along both the [[North Shore (Laval)|North Shore]] of the [[Rivière des Mille-Îles|Mille-Îles River]] and the [[South Shore (Montreal)|South Shore]] of the [[St. Lawrence River]]. It was created on June 1, 2017, taking over Montreal's commuter rail services from the former '''{{lang|fr|i=no|Agence métropolitaine de transport}}''' as well as bus and [[paratransit]] services from the various suburban municipal and intermunicipal transit agencies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/about/status-mandate |title= Status, mandates and territory
 |publisher=Exo |access-date=2024-10-10}}</ref> Exo operates the second busiest such system in Canada after Toronto's [[GO Transit]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Exo's territory is concurrent with [[Montreal Metropolitan Community]] limits, with the addition of the [[Kahnawake]] First Nations reserve and the city of [[Saint-Jérôme, Quebec|Saint-Jérôme]].<ref>''Act respecting the Réseau de transport métropolitain'' (RLRQ, c. R-25.01, section 3)</ref> It serves a population of approximately 4 million people who make more than 174,000 trips daily in the {{convert|4258.97|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} area radiating from Montreal.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.artm.quebec/a-propos-de-l-artm/ |title= À propos
|language=fr |trans-title=About |publisher=Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain |access-date=2024-10-15}}</ref><ref name="Rapport_annuel_2023"/>

== History ==

{{See also |Exo commuter rail#History |Exo bus services#History}}

A regional transit agency in Greater Montreal was first created by the [[Government of Quebec|Quebec government]] in 1995 with the {{langr|fr|Agence métropolitain de transport}}, with the mandate of developing, coordinating and promoting transit throughout the area; improve and develop the commuter rail network, and; encourage integration of different modes of transit. On December 20, 1996, the AMT took over responsibility of the commuter trains from the [[Société de transport de Montréal|Société de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal]] (STCUM).<ref name="evolution_trains_banlieue">{{Cite web |url=https://archipel.uqam.ca/12610/1/D3566.pdf |title=L'Évolution des trains de banlieue montréalais : 170 ans de service (1847 - 2017) |language=fr |trans-title=The Evolution of Montreal Suburban Rail: 170 Years of Service (1847 - 2017) |author=Barrieau, Pierre |publisher=Université de Québec à Montréal }}</ref>

On June 1, 2017, the AMT was disbanded in a reorganization of metropolitan transit authorities. A new agency, the {{langr|fr|Réseau de transport métropolitain}} (RTM) was created to be responsible for operating commuter rail and suburban transit services.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=https://exo.quebec/fr/a-propos/medias-publications/communiques-presse/nouvelle-gouvernance-dans-les-transports-collectifs |title=Nouvelle gouvernance dans les transports collectifs |language=fr |trans-title=New governance in public transit |publisher=Réseau de transport métropolitain |date=2017-06-01 |access-date=2024-09-05 }}</ref>

In May 2018, the RTM adopted the Exo brand (stylized ''exo'', all-lowercase), to represent the sub- and exurban nature of its service area.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/fr/a-propos/medias-publications/communiques-presse/le-reseau-de-transport-metropolitain-devient-exo | title=Le Réseau de transport métropolitain devient exo |trans-title=The Réseau de transport métropolitain becomes exo |language=fr |date=2018-05-23 |access-date=2024-08-27 |publisher=Exo }}</ref>

==Partners in transport{{Anchor|CIT}}==
Exo's parent agency, the {{langr|fr|[[Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain]]}} (ARTM), is charged with transportation planning for the [[Greater Montreal]] area.

Exo operates commuter train service as well as the bus service outside of the three main population centres of Greater Montreal. In these areas service is provided by the {{langr|fr|[[Société de Transport de Montréal]]}} on the [[Island of Montreal]], the {{langr|fr|[[Société de Transport de Laval]]}} in [[Laval, Quebec|Laval]], and the {{langr|fr|[[Réseau de transport de Longueuil]]}} for the [[urban agglomeration of Longueuil]].

==Commuter rail==

{{Main |Exo commuter rail}}

{{Excerpt |Exo commuter rail}}

== Buses ==

[[File:Exobus1.jpg|thumb|217x217px|An Exo commuter bus in [[Downtown Montreal]].]]
[[File:Exobus2.jpg|thumb|217x217px|An Exo commuter coach at Mansfield Terminal in [[Downtown Montreal]], headed for [[Sainte-Martine, Quebec|Sainte-Martine]].]]

{{main|Exo bus services}}
Exo runs multiple bus lines through its subsidiaries serving Montréal suburbs. 

Exo operates all commuter bus services for the [[North Shore (Montreal)|North Shore]] and [[South Shore (Montreal)|South Shore]] suburbs, excepting the cities of [[Longueuil, Quebec|Longueuil]] and [[Laval, Quebec|Laval]], which have their own transit agencies.

These bus services are operated mostly through 13 bus terminals, of which most belong to Exo :

* Terminus La Prairie
* Terminus Châteauguay
* Terminus Georges-Gagné
* Terminus Montcalm-Candiac
* Terminus Repentigny
* Terminus Terrebonne
* Terminus Sainte-Julie
* Terminus Saint-Eustache
* Stationnement incitatif Beloeil
* Terminus Chambly
* Terminus Contrecoeur

== Fares ==

{{See also |Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain#Fare structure}}

Exo services operate within the [[Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain]] (ARTM)'s [[Integrated ticketing|integrated fare structure]] for [[Greater Montreal]], which manages its fare schedule and fare zones.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/fares/fare-reform |title=Fare reform |website=Exo |access-date=2024-12-10}}</ref>

In 2022 the ARTM began a multi-year program of updating and simplifying the fare schedule. Through this process, and as the [[Réseau express métropolitain]] replaced some train and bus services, certain legacy fares were retained and new transitional fares were created, with the objective of slowly raising prices over time to match the simplified fare structure and then ultimately be phased out &mdash; a process called {{lang|fr|lissage}} (smoothing).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.artm.quebec/financer/refonte-tarifaire/ |title=Refonte tarifaire |language=fr |trans-title=Fare reform |website=Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain |access-date=2024-12-10}}</ref> As of July 2024, [[Exo commuter rail#Fares|Exo commuter rail]] and [[Exo bus services#Fares|certain bus sectors]] still have these unique fares.<ref name="fare-schedule-2024">{{Cite web|url=https://www.artm.quebec/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ARTM_Grille_tarifaire_TC_EN.pdf | title=Fare schedule: Public transit. Fares in effect starting July 1, 2024 |publisher = Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain |access-date=2024-12-10}}</ref>

== Ridership ==
In 2018, Exo carried 174,710 passengers on a typical weekday&nbsp;— 77,210 on the trains and 97,500 by commuter bus, including adapted transport.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Number of Passenger Trips (2024)<ref name="Rapport_annuel_2024"/>
|-
| colspan="3"  style="background:#eef; text-align:center;"| Rail lines
|-
| {{ric|Exo|11}} [[Vaudreuil–Hudson line]]
|align=right| 2,730,671
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo|11}}; width:96px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| {{ric|Exo|12}} [[Saint-Jérôme line]]
|align=right| 2,250,728
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo|12}}; width:79px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| {{ric|Exo|13}} [[Mont-Saint-Hilaire line]]
|align=right| 866,901
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo|13}}; width:31px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| {{ric|Exo|14}} [[Candiac line]]
|align=right| 804,488
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo|14}}; width:28px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| {{ric|Exo|15}} [[Mascouche line]]
|align=right| 399,177
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo|15}}; width:14px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| style="text-align:right;"| ''Subtotal&nbsp;— Rail lines''
|colspan="2" | ''7,051,965''
|-
| colspan="3"  style="background:#eef; text-align:center;"| Bus routes and on-demand
|-
| style="text-align:right;"| Exo North Shore buses
|align=right| 9,298,734
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo}}; width:328px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| style="text-align:right;"| Exo South Shore buses
|align=right| 7,314,438
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo}}; border: 1px solid black; width:258px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| style="text-align:right;"| Exo Paratransit
|align=right| 736,451
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo}}; width:26px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| style="text-align:right;"| Transit on demand
|align=right| 90,725
| <div style="background:#{{rcr|Exo}}; width:3px; overflow:hidden">&nbsp; </div>
|-
| style="text-align:right;"| ''Subtotal&nbsp;— Bus system''
|colspan="2" | ''17,440,348''
|-
! ''Total&nbsp;— Exo System''
!colspan="2" align=right| ''24,492,313''
|}

== See also ==
* {{langr|fr|[[Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain]]}}
* [[Public transport in Canada]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website}}

{{Exo bus}}
{{Exo rail system}}
{{Public transport}}
{{Public transit systems in Canada}}

[[Category:Exo (public transit)| ]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 2017]]
[[Category:1859 establishments in Canada East]]
[[Category:1996 establishments in Quebec]]
[[Category:2017 establishments in Quebec]]
[[Category:Transit agencies in Quebec]]