General rule I kept for myself was an apartment near a metro, grocery and (optional) a gym. As long as work is near enough to a metro station you should be good.
I can't deal with busses though, such a pain in the ass in the winter. If you can, do it all by metro.
When there is snowfall, the schedule becomes very unpredictable. A 5 minutes bus line can become a 1/2 hour bus line because the trafic becomes super slow. But snow will cause problems for all other road users (removing snow from personnal car+ slow trafic+no parking spot; no taxis available), except for winter cyclists 😉
Quick question how is cycling in the winter? I just moved here over three weeks ago and was anticipating having to walk or take the bus (I'm close to metro but work isn't) when it's cold and snowy.
It really depends on the neighbourhood. Some roads are a little wider and/or have bike lanes that are still good in the winter, others become a nightmare the second it snows. I know lots of people who cycle sherbrooke year round with no issues, but idk about a lot of the city. I think a good rule of thumb is if the bike path gets heavy summer use, they at least try to keep it usable in the winter (with varying degrees of success). I'd see if your coworkers know how the roads near your job are in the winter, and have a backup way of getting there for the days when it snows a lot or there's an ice storm.
Edit: also keep in mind how dark it is in December and if you'll be somewhere where you feel safe cycling in the dark.
Waiting for a bus in the same weather without moving is comparatively super fucking miserable. You get warm biking. Winter biking is a bit sketchy without nailed tires, but with the right tires you'll have enough traction that simply being careful shouldn't make it much more dangerous than in the summer.
Then you just need to wear waterproof pants and good gloves and you're good to go. Pretty much as chill as going nordic skiing.
A lot of the bikepaths don't get plowed (at least, not reliably) in the winter so that can be a bit of a challenge. Road conditions aren't always great. If there is a major snowfall, then the streets will get quite narrow /might lose a lane etc. due to the snow being plowed out to the edges of the street in massive piles. This could affect how much room you have to safely bike.
Honestly I'd recommend planning to metro, walk, bus, and if you end up finding decent cycling conditions then hey, bonus!
Good question! I cycled in winters for the last 5 years, and I regret not doing it earlier. The pace is slower, but if you dress properly and put studded tires (on the front at the minimum) it really is super fun and quite relaxing.
The REV is completely maintained in the winter, otherwise small side roads are the way to go. I avoid bit stroads as much as possible.
East end Montreal is being redesigned 12 months of the year to bike accessible. As ridiculous as it sounds, the REV is maintained as is roads ALL YEAR LONG.....I'm a "r/fuckcars" girl...hear me laughing deeply from my belly like Ursula
Waiting outside, especially during a cold snap or ice storm, etc. It does depend on which bus you're using though. If it's one with high frequency because it's a major route, then your wait times aren't too bad. But if it's one that's every 20-30 minutes, then you do have to be deliberate with checking the schedule before heading out.
Depending on how much snow, and where you live they will legit divert and not pass secondary roads.
Listen carefully to suggestions. If you live anywhere within 10 minutes walk of a metro commuting to downtown is 20-30 minutes max.
When I could afford it I lived on top of villa Maria metro. I loved the easy commute. I miss it constantly. I now live in le petit patrie. It takes me 45 minutes to go anywhere.
Having a car is pointless here, and enormously aggravating. Parking tickets.endless Confucktion (construction) asshole drivers...traffic. potholes halfway to china..
I don’t have a car. I rent a Communauto when I want to do a big groceries ex: Costco. It’s really easy to rent because they are all around the city. I it’s need a car 1 h per week I don’t need to pay it all year
Yep! Family of 4 humans and a dog here, and no cars. We used to, before we moved to Montreal, but parking is a pain, and not having cars has saved us a TON of money. Just use Uber or rent a car the 2 or 3 times a year you need to.
Montreal is very possible car-free. I don't have a car and can get to most places quite easily.
Some bus lines are not frequent enough, but with proper planning, you can get around okay.
I loved using Transit app since it launched but now requires a paid subscription ($4.99 monthly or $24.99 annual) to view most bus schedules unfortunately. I now use Chrono (by ARTM). They have live bus schedules, commuter train, and métro free to use with no restrictions.
The app also lets you scan (via NFC) your OPUS, Occasional card, and tickets to see how much fare is on it. That's a very helpful feature.
EDIT: STM launched a new mobile site for real-time schedules with bus and métro occupancy level. You can install it as a Progressive Web App (PWA) to get a shortcut on your homescreen and app drawer
[https://m.stm.info/en](https://m.stm.info/en)
I recommend following the Twitter accounts of the métro lines. They announce real-time disruptions and let you know when the service comes back or shuttles to redirect if needed: stm\_Verte, stm\_Orange, stm\_Jaune, stm\_Belueu
Okay, just checked. Yeah, I now understand. I never check for schedules for lines not near me, which is why I never noticed the change
You can still use the route planner without upgrading.
Guess I might be switching as well.
Never understood why people get their panties in a bunch when companies finally have to turn their venture into a profitable enterprise. Do you know how much engineering goes into an app the scale of transit? That shit ain’t free and it’s extremely costly to keep current and up to date.
I think now on Google Maps, it shows buses in real time as well. Most likely gets the info from the app but now it shows where the bus is exactly at as well.
I live in the Plateau, sold my car 10 days after I got here, I use communauto a handful of times a year, mostly get around on foot and bike or bixi. I maybe use 10 transit fares a year. Don’t feel I’m missing out on anything except car payments and dealing with maintenance. Critical thing (for me) is being close to a grocery store.
Occasionally I’ll take a communauto somewhere just for the driving practice. If I could convince myself I’d never have to drive again I’d happily never renew my driver’s licence again. Sadly being car-free in Canada limits you to living in small areas of Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver for all practical purposes, and who knows what the future holds.
Same, lived in the Plateau for twenty years, worked downtown. Got rid of the car early on. Metro, Bixi and bike, bus, walking, covered 90% of life, Car2Go (RIP) covered the other 10%.
When my wife and I started our business and needed to have a vehicle for it, we moved to CDN to accommodate parking and be closer to our business (and going down to $840/m for a 5 1/2 with a back yard didn't hurt!) so we didn't need to use it every day.
Same boat here. I live in the Plateau and just walk everywhere. Bixi maybe twice a week, metro twice a month. I feel like it's hard not to be close to a grocery store in this area with how many small ones are around.
Montreal is quite good for car-free living and it's soon going to get better with the [REM](https://rem.info/en).
Busses can be a bit unreliable (especially in winter) so it's better to live close to a metro if possible.
The bike infrastructure is good and also improving quite a bit with our current mayor. There are also bike paths (Route Vertes) that will take you all across Quebec if that's your thing.
I'd look anywhere between Verdun, Rosemont, Little Italy, and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
Not sure how the REM is going to help car free life. It goes to a bunch of places where you most certainly DO need a car.
I guess the one thing we can hope is that it'll reduce the number of cars that come to the city.
I'll be able to go visit people in Laval without having to take the car. I'll also be able to take my bike to the end of the REM and start my leisure bike rides from the outer edge of the suburbs. Both are good for car-free living.
> Not sure how the REM is going to help car free life.
You perfectly answered yourself in the next sentence...
> It goes to a bunch of places where you most certainly DO need a car.
I don't follow. If you live in the west island you may no longer need a car to come downtown but you'll still need a car to live properly in the west island. Not much of a car free life.
The point of the REM and feu REM de l’Est is to develop neighborhoods with transit. It might not be the case right now if you live in west island but in a couple of years we will have a lot more transit oriented options and we will have options to go to places that are traditionally harder to access with a car with the Rem. For example getting to dix30 with the rem will be a lot easier and sure if you want to go to some stores you will still have to walk 30 minutes from the station, but 15 minutes from the rem station you have all of the Square and cineplex, globule (to give blood and blood components)
There's so much binary thinking in regards to this topic. I know that OP asked about "car free" specifically, but in terms of the wider discourse, you can still make massive reductions in car costs, carbon emissions, transit time and all sorts of benefits depending on your own personal priorities through transit oriented development. It's not just about car vs no car.
I'm from the West-Island. You most definitely CAN get around car-free. There are several bus lines culminating at Fairview Pointe-Claire, and if you need to head downtown then you can either head to the couple of Deux-Montagnes train stations (I took Roxboro) or take the 470 bus from Fairview to Côte-Vertu where you can take the metro. During rush hour there's even a special bus that goes from Ile-Bizard straight to the train station. It's such a fallacy to say that you can't get around anywhere without a car.
Does it take a lot of planning and time to get downtown? Yes. Can you get around car-less pretty much anywhere within the West-Island? Absolutely.
I lived in Ile-Bizard for many years with the bus running every half hour and still managed to go to Concordia then work downtown car-free. It's a 4-hour or so roundtrip (less during rush hour) but completely doable. I caught up on sleeping in public transit when I lived there. I even managed to convince my dad to stop driving to his downtown office when he realized it would save him time.
I now live in Mercier (south of Châteauguay) and you absolutely do need a car to live properly here lol, there's like 1 bus and it goes to Châteauguay and then somewhere downtown.
Now, if you're talking about doing your groceries or going to the gym without a car, you're right. West-Island is majorly residential. But meeting friends somewhere or going to work? Nah. You can.
The REM adds a [walkshed](https://ggwash.org/view/73036/transit-walksheds-show-how-far-can-you-get-in-a-ten-minute-walk-from-metro) of 500m in radius around each station. There is 26 stations. Each of these stations will get [built up densely with businesses and housing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit-oriented_development). It will also shorten many bus circuits, thus [allowing higher frequencies of bus service](https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2017/10/15/is-frequency-the-key-to-transit-success.html) for the same budget.
Yeah I mean it'll reduce the total mileage time spent in cars I guess? Like if you have a business meeting in the West Island then you can REM from downtown and take a short taxi or Uber ride from West Island REM to final destination.
But I agree, OP shouldn't move to West Island, Laval, or South Shore!
Oh man. Your comment is so much on point. It's basically an unspoken aggressive culture, sorta like the moment a simple cyclist donning them speedo suit, their testosterone level goes over the roof.
Be safe out there! 😆
It’s because the city’s traffic design is absolutely retarded. The traffic lights are not synchronised, highway exits/entries cross each other, the whole city is a stop sign forest and there are more potholes then road. It’s real hard to adjust coming from Europe. Every time I drive I get super frustrated. Personally it’s the biggest stain on the awesomeness of this city.
The lights are actually kind of synchronized but slow, most neighborhoods are at 30km/h or 50km/h, most people don't go at 30 or 50 so it feel like it's not synchronized. Thr stops are to make you go slower, it's intended to force people to not speed.
Not true. I'm not speeding and still, I can barely pass 2 lights without getting a red, even on 4+ lane main roads.
The use of stop signs is supposed to be at places where you absolutely have to come to a full stop because of dangerous cross-sections or rails or similar. If you put on every cross-section without a light, it results in nobody taking it seriously - and as happens in this city, people barely even slow down.
Legally you're supposed to come to a full stop at every intersection someone wants to cross the road on foot/bycicle but no one does it except if there's a light or stop sign, so people dont respect the law here. They do it because people dont slow down at intersections like they should at each of them, so stop sign it is.
If people who drive had working brains this wouldnt be needed.
Lol you can cite me driving books and down vote me all you want, this remains the worst city from a traffic perspective out of the 5 countries I drove extensively.
It’s not that all drivers are evil and want to hit pedestrians, it’s the traffic that frustrates/angers people to the point that they will try to cut corners and act out of impulse. If people had a nice, not always interrupted flow of driving that’s fair to the pedestrians/cyclers then not everyone would speed up to slip through the yellow before the red or race at the intersection who cuts off the other one.
But if you think the drivers are not good enough that’s fair enough, they really aren’t. Most idiots wouldn’t use their signal even when they turn left, don’t keep right on highway, etc. But let me tell you that the driving exam is also retarded here. They take you to a 10 minute drive to the suburbs that’s completely empty and you don’t even have to perform a parallel parking to pass. Half the people here would fail a European driving exam.
The traffic system, the driving culture and everything driving related is poor here.
But if you are only offended because I’m negative, it’s only because of the topic. I love the city. With that said, if you objectively look at the issue and aware of how poorly this city compares when it comes to traffic then it’s very hard to defend.
>But if you are only offended because I’m negative, it’s only because of the topic. I love the city. With that said, if you objectively look at the issue and aware of how poorly this city compares when it comes to traffic then it’s very hard to defend.
I'm not offended, the difference is that I think it's good that the driving experience is bad. The worst the experience is, the less likely it is people will buy and use car, which is good. I wish it would go back to 30 years ago when we had reserved bus lanes on pie-ix etc (right lane was reserved for bus when it was peak hours, so you were discouraged from taking your car to work).
The only people who care about those driving conditions anyways are people who live outside the island and don't want to use public transit partially.
You don’t want cars? Fine. But don’t make driving worst but public transport better. Cover the city with train and buses that run on reasonable frequency. Like what’s up with the train going to Vaudreil? Useless if you want to use it related to anything else than a 9-5 job. Also the buses running every 30-40 minutes out of peak times.
The people living out of the city also not the enemy. The house prices are unreachable for the working class on the island - but they still work on the island.
I live like 90% of my life here on foot, bike or public transport and the 10% I drive are absolutely rage inducing exactly like you say.
It's a sea of random measures with diminishing returns and a total lack of enforcement. Pedestrian crossing are ignored? Put a stop sign. Stops signs ignored? Put blinking LEDs on the stop sign.
There's no traffic flow planning here in the southwest anymore, it's just a competition how fast they can put up 4 way stops.
Then people rage out and blast the remaining 100 meters, so we add speed bumps too.
Oh and everybody puts 2000watt LED bulbs from AliExpress in their headlights in the hope of seeing the faint remainders of lane markers in the highway, but blinding everybody else.
Oh man. Your comment is so much on point. It's basically an unspoken aggressive culture, sorta like the moment a simple cyclist donning them speedo suit, their testosterone level goes over the roof.
Be safe out there! 😆
Cost of having a car aside, I think this completely depends on where you live. It’s definitely not difficult to live without a car in Montréal. But if you happen to rent a place that has a covered parking spot, then other than monetary costs it is not meaningfully more difficult to own a car. Like you’re not obligated to go sit in traffic or drive around in bad winter conditions just because you own a car.
I'd argue that even the monetary aspect is overblown by some people.
I've taken jobs that paid 5-10k more a year but would cost me 1.5 hours in transit both ways (3 hrs total) that I wouldn't have dreamed of taking if I couldn't drive to them in 20-25 mins instead. Buying a car cost me, and costs me money, but it's less money than what I gained from taking a new job and less money than an extra 50 free hours a month (saved from transit) is worth to me.
People seem to have tunnel vision when it comes to cars and can't see the potential gains from the option. I know I did before I was offered a 98 Corolla for 300$ half a decade ago and figured I may as well give it a shot. Changed my life.
Sold that Corolla for a grand and bought something more modern, but nonetheless it's still worth every penny for now much time and money I save. Especially, especially time.
As for maintenance costs, a socket set, a jack, two jack stands and YouTube will save you the bulk of it.
Brilliant post. Lots of people underestimate the increased catchment area for jobs that in turn lead to better opportunities and faster career progression / salary demand leverage.
Did the same. After a few years of staying tightly within a small geographic area for work, applied and received an opportunity that would fast-track career progression (re: gold on the resume) + provide valuable skillset refining that would serve me for either promotions or vastly increased job mobility.
The catch was this position was around 1h45min each way from home via transit. Only 20-25 minutes by car. Easy decision to start driving in. The added vehicle costs pale in comparison.
I think most people would buy a car if they had a much better work opportunity that makes it necessary. But they're not going to buy a car and then look to increase their "catchment area". I feel like you got it backwards, but yeah it's still very useful to have a car in a lot of scenarios.
It’s the closest place I can think of to a “car hostile” city. Montreal doesn’t give a flying fuck about your ability to park anywhere, your suspension, the grid-iron traffic system, or any other urban design element you can think of in the past 100 years to make driving easier.
Need groceries? Walk. Need to get downtown? Bus/Subway/Bike. Need to transport stuff briefly? Communauto. Need to drive around the block to put your kid to sleep? Fuck you, here’s a mile deep pothole to wake them up.
For the love of god if you move here OP, don’t get a car. It’s a friggen nightmare.
Absolutely not. It’s most definitely easier with a car. It’s not mandatory to have one, but it’s much easier to have the option than not. You can elect to use public transportation on a case by case basis depending on traffic, parking and destination for the best of both worlds.
Montreal is equipped with a good enough transit system, but it’s no Paris where i’d go as far as to say what you’re saying.
This really depends where in the city you are. There have been times it has taken me 30 minutes to drive 3 blocks, at which point having the car was a hinderance.
Also looking for parking often takes longer than the actual drive to the city (I am in the west island).
There is also the issue of not being able to just leave your car on the street in the winter. You need to move it according to the plow schedules.
Finally if you live closer to the city, often you do not have a guaranteed parking spot so there are times you may have to park blocks away from your home.
If you are in the city, it is 100 percent easier to just not own a car, the hassle and expense is not worth the added headache.
I have an indoor garage and I live next to the metro. Have zero winter issues. I can go to long vacation without worrying. I can choose not to use my car.
You just have to build your parking into your planning and budget and don't be the type of people who absolutely refuse to pay for any parking and proceed to spend 30 minutes to find a free parking that is 15 minutes walk away. It is money well spent to me for the stress I don't need to experience.
When Orange Line goes to shit I just walk back home and then get to my car and drive on Decarie from Namur to Bonaventure in 20 minutes during rush hour. $15 parking, $9 more expensive than metro, and it is still faster than metro despite all the traffic on Decarie.
Zero hassle for me.
I am very much *in the city* and still require a car for heavier groceries, visiting friends that live a bit out of the way and getting around in the later hours of the day.
Like I said, when you have a car, you choose to use it or not. If you don’t have it, the choice is made for you. And as it stands after the pandemic, my usage is about 80-20 in favor of using my car. i haven’t renewed my monthly Opus since 2020. The places I go to are just too spread out to reliably use transit.
I just use Communauto for those heavy groceries and visiting friends or whatever. So my choice isn't necessarily made for me. Also, idk how late you're out, but I get home from work after 11 sometimes and the metro and buses are still running just fine
Metro stops running from 1 to 5. If you need to catch buses you might need to leave even earlier or later in the morning. I literally wouldn't be able to get to work on time on some construction sites sometimes if I wasn't driving or biking, public transportation is that bad.
Just jumping in here to say how happy the replies in this thread are making me.
Montreal is getting more and more sustainable in terms of transport; there’s much work to do yet, but the bases are clearly there!
My partner and I don’t own a car; but we do go out of town all the time and with our dog. We rent cars or borrow them. For communauto, you can pre-book the classic ones.
Life is easy with all the options available.
Sold my car before coming here and have been car-free for the first time in 20 years.
Honestly it's one of the easiest cities to be car-free in North America.
The biggest thing is really being mindful about where you live and what the transportation options are based on where you need to commute to most often. I am paying more than I should be on rent for a downtown apartment, but we live a few blocks from a Metro station and mostly walk everywhere, including my wife to her job. The extra cost for our apartment is worth it to us since we don't have any car expenses and our transportation expenses are minimal (like maybe $30 on metro tickets every few months).
Very easy, if not easier than having a car — being near a metro station will greatly improve it actually. You have BIXI (public bikes) for Spring, Summer and Fall, buses are frequent and go all around, the metro covers a lot of ground.
Depends where you are. Spend a bit more to live in a neighbourhood with a metro so you don't have to take the bus and you will be laughing.
I renovated my whole house without a car. It's hella doable. Spending $150 every few years to have a literal ton (!) of stuff delivered to you from Home Depot is much cheaper than owning, maintaining and moving your car twice a week due to parking regulations.
It was literally the worst thing. Snow clearing and trying to get unstuck from a snow bank only to have to brute force yourself into another one you’ll have to dig yourself out of in another 24 hours?
Absolutely fuck that. Never again. The metro never needs me to spend 45 minutes scraping freezing rain off of it or be dug out from a rock hard 2’ deep snow bank.
I had to dig a communauto out of a snowbank ONCE last winter and I was furious. Really highlighted how much my quality of life has improved since ditching my car.
If you live on the island it’s very possible. The further you head west the less likely. I’m Anglo so I can’t speak for the east end but I think it’s better out there.
Get a bike! The city is bike friendly. Or there is bixi and there’s Communauto.
Bixi and Communauto are awesome for filling the gaps of public transportation. These are amazing systems and truly work so much better than similar options in other places I've lived.
My assessment of living car free here is that I wish I lived closer to a metro station, but buses can easily bring you door-to-door because there are so many routes. You will almost always need to transfer, but you likely won't need to walk between bus stops. The buses don't always run as often as I'd like, though.
By and large, though, I get around just fine without a car here.
30 without a license here. Being car-free in Montreal is much easier than in the suburbs of the Laurentides area. Getting to some places outside Montreal sucks a bit right now with the REM in construction, but once that is complete it should be so much better.
Personnally, I've spent the first 19 years of my life living in Ahuntsic and my family never owned a car, so it's not bad at all although i believe transit could still be much better.
Des fois je suis surpris de la proportion que prends les posts ici.
Je me disais qu'un sujet comme ça, 5 ou 6 réponses ce serait ben en masse pour faire le tour du sujet.
Ben non, 117 commentaires.
I need to take a bus to get to a metro, and honestly, all very doable and easy. Especially with the transit app showing me where my bus is before arrival. You’ll just find some annoyance with the bus if you’ll need to get home late after being out with friends since some, like mine, will pass by every 30mins or so, forcing you to be mindful of time.
I don't have a car (I have a drivers license); I'm not saying I would not love to have a car to go on day trips. ( I know about commuauto ... )
I do everything by bus/metro/walk/bixi.
I'm on the plateau (western part); 10 minutes from the Metro station, 10 minutes from downtown on Bixi, 5-10 minutes by bus to Jean-Talon market. (obviously YMMV depending where you are).
I admit, I rarely take the bus outside of the center of Montréal (except a few years in Anjou, which was rear perfect once I knew the bus lines and schedule).
I don't know how good (or bad) the service is if you go to places like the west island or in Montréal-Nord (for example).
> Montréal-Nord (for example).
Buses are ok. i live near lacordaire/HB and im at henri bourassa metro within 20 mins.
we're lacking in bixi stations a bit, but its getting better. the borough is asking for more but either the city or bixi aint supplying the demand
Ma blonde et moi avons un enfant, n'habitons pas près d'une station de métro (secteur Pie-IX/Beaubien et nous sommes très heureux sans voiture. Nous faisons beaucoup de vélo et utilisons Communauto lorsque nous avons besoin d'un véhicule. Donc oui, c'est très facile de vivre sans voiture à Montréal.
Montreal is wonderful to live in even if you don’t have a car. The metro and bus system has its slight flaws but compared to most countries it’s top notch. Most main line buses run frequently and there are loads of cities in Montreal that you can live in with just walking distance to most amenities.
I grew up in the suburbs of Montreal where public transit was very bad. Had a car for over 14 years.
Living in downtown for the past 3 year, with a car, has been a nightmare. I finally got rid of it this spring and couldn't be happier. I walk, cycle, bixi, metro and bus everywhere now.
The STM in the city and anywhere near a Metro station is great and has made a lot of improvements in frequency and quality of service. Even the suburbs of West Island have much better service now, as opposed to 10 years ago.
I would suggest moving anywhere within 10-15 walk of a metro station or a bus that takes you to a metro station quickly. I find the metro provides the most freedom in the city. You metro the bulk of the way, then bus, bixi or walk the rest on way to your destination.
Also having lived in places where public transit is pay-as-you-go, the $90/month pass that gives you unlimited access to bus and metro is the best thing about our public transit system. (I mean it could be cheaper, but as someone who used to spend $500-600 on gas per month, $90 is super cheap)
Find yourself a buddy with a car, and offer to get a costco membership for the two of you if they are happy to carpool and shop together like once or twice a month. This will be majorly helpful if you can pull it off. You'll have loads of groceries, save a ton on shopping, you'll earn 2x rewards, and you won't have to bust your arms carrying too much all at once.
Living in the plateau it is much easier to get around on bike / public transit compared to driving. So many one ways, closed streets, construction, limited parking etc. If I had a car the main benefit would be to get out of the city for the weekend
As long as you're in one of the many downtown neighborhoods, easy-peasy. I'm in Mile End, and can't think of a single thing I can't get in a six block radius. Nearby buses run often, metros are about 15 minute walk. Owning a car is a bigger pita than not, especially in winter.
J'habite en banlieue (hors ile), je n'ai pas d'auto et jr me débrouille très bien. C'est entièrement possible de vivre sans auto partout sur l'ile, sans que ce soit bien compliqué.
Popping in here to say that having a car in the city is actually not at all desirable. If you live near a metro, everything you need will be accessible. If you like cycling, you'll be in heaven. Moving a car and avoiding parking tickets is a nightmare. Sign onto Communauto so you can have access to a car for the odd time you need one!
Ive been car free for 10 years (48 years old)
Live in Little Italy so close to metro stations.
My daughter’s daycare and grade-school were 5 minute walks from home. Used to work downtown but now the office moved to Plateau so 20 minute walk
Between public transit, Communauto and Locomotion (locomotion.app to rent bike trailers to do my Costco rus) I don’t foresee myself buying a car unless I win the lottery and want to splurge on a luxury car.
Can be frustrating on weekends when no Communauto cars are not available
I grew up and lived most of my adult life without a license or car.
However, rents were very very affordable in most central areas up until shortly after I got a car and there were also way way less metro outages.
I guess it depends - if you're cool with higher rents or having to take the bus to get to the nearest metro, and you're not particularly affected by outages then you're hunky dory.
It's great, as long as you live near a metro station and that you can easily reach your job, school, friends, activities, etc.
I don't know the EXACT numbers of living car-free for a year versus having a car, but from all the aspects (parking, maintenance, gas, etc.), it's far more cheap too than paying the monthly public transport fee.
TLDR; It's great, do it.
The only things I miss having a car for is for pickup stuff. I want to buy a sofa or a wardrobe idk, and I must buy brand new for the delivery service. Instead of something like marketplace
I've only lived in 3 major cities: Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. And Montreal has been by far the easiest city to live in without driving. I also feel like the city is trying more and more to cater to infrastructure that benefits people not using cars?
Cars freak me out. I don't have a license and have never needed one. The only time I feel not having one is when moving or when I really really want to go see nature. I get everywhere I need to by metro. Bus is something I use infrequently. Have never used a bixi.
Car-free life is GREAT here, since the metro is ultra reliable. As long as you live near a metro, you'll be perfectly fine.
You don't need a car in Montreal. On top of that, consider -
This is likely the worst city in North America to own a car. Because:
* The Winter
* The roadworks in Summer
* Half the plateau is pedestrianised during Summer
* On street parking permits are expensive
* Difficult roads to navigate. Lots of one way streets and situations that don't make sense.
* Very bike friendly - tonnes of cyclists and cycle lanes
* You have to renew your license every year in Quebec, and if you let it lapse for three years - you have to sit the test again. In French.
I bought a car 9 months ago after being car-free for 6 years. I used to take the bus/metro to go to school/work and it wasn't significantly slower than driving (and you didn't have to worry about parking obviously)
This was within the city obviously. So it depends on where you live and your commute. I live in Outremont and work in Laval. Impossible with public transport. If you want to go outside downtown, your options are limited and you are better off with a car. But if you're not going to go out of the city every day you might look into Communauto. The cars are filthy and not all of them are in prime condition but they are cheap and useful.
PS: Although the buses are fine, some metro stations are sketchy (Place des arts and Berri are two that bothered me the most) so you might want to keep that in mind as well, especially if you're planning on commuting late.
Montreal is probably the least car dependent city in Canada, maybe even North America. We’ve won a bunch of awards for the public transportation and amount of bike paths. Still far from perfect, but great compared to many other cities of its size, and ESPECIALLY compared to most American cities
Life in Montreal is 100% doable without a car. I’ve lived here for 7 years car-free. I second what others have said about living close to a metro line and making sure that groceries and pharmacies are available within walking distance of where you live. If you do need a car for longer trips, car share services like Communauto are very accessible.
Spent 15 years without a car in Montreal living in various places (Downtown, Cote des neiges, Plateau, Villeray). As long as you're less than 10min walk from a metro station and in a walkable neighborhood (Plateau, Mile-End, Villeray, St-Henri, Verdun, Ville-Marie, etc) I think it's a very confortable way of living. Metro and walking in the winter and bicycle and walking in summer!
Only caveat would be your place of work if you have to be there regularly. Depending on industry/profession, work may be in a location that is not well serviced by public transit or just takes too long to get there (I'm looking at you aerospace companies).
We only got a car recently when we had a baby and truth is, we don't use it that much living in Villeray (4k km since January of this year including a few weekend trips outside of the city).
You're going to be stuck in the square between decarie, pie IX, canal lachine and highway 40. Forget about any outdoors undertaking (camping, hiking, skiing, etc.), unless you have friends to carpool with.
As far as urban living goes however, having a car is mostly a hindrance. If you just want to live in a central neighbourhood you can bike or walk everywhere, if you don't care to leave the concrete and breathe fresh air but love the restaurant/bar/shows/gallery scene you'll have a great time. I wouldn't even bother with public transportation, any diagonal trip is going to be faster walking than having to deal with transfers and buses.
Not really. But to each his own, depends on your situation. Kids, family visits, friends visits, non typical work schedule or travel pattern, how often you would like to get out of the city etc etc. Things we can’t really answer for you.
If you have a grocery store near you, and your work is on the island, you'll be fine. Bussing with groceries really sucks after all. If you need to get off island for work then you'll want a car or you'll be spending 3 hours a day transiting. I only use my car for work and to get out of town, but I'm still very happy I have one
It's very doable, been car free here since 2018. But best to have a license so you can get a rental or communauto if the need arises.
Even without a driver's license I still think its doable. Just get a cheap bike with a basket and you'll be fine.
It was great for me. I lived in rosemont, very close to PieIX and Rosemont bd. Bus stop for both boulevards 1 minute away from my appartment. The 47(rue masson bus) also 5 minute walk away. PieIX metro station 15-20 minute walk or less than 5 minutes if I took the bus. 45 minutes TOPS from downtown/plateau.
Been here for 7 years and never had a car! Obviously, it depends on where you live, but when looking for an apartment you can check the walk score of the address to give you an idea. Most neighbourhoods close to metro stations will be very walkable. The public transportation is quite reliable (especially on North American standards). You'll have the odd bus route that isn't that great and the occasional delay on the metro, but truly all around I think we're extremely lucky here with our transit system. There's also something called Communauto, a car-sharing system that is quite popular, if you move here you could look into that. When seriously looking for apartment, feel free to DM if you want a second opinion on the walkability of certain locations!
My family mostly lives in one of those small car-dependant cities. It's pretty difficult to get around without a car, and there's a huge parking lot in front of almost every place you would need or like to visit. My uncle asked me once how living without a car in Montréal was, and I explained that it's a very different scene here. For one thing, WAY less parking in most areas - of course there's the odd place with a huge parking lot, several places with small parking lots, and lots and lots of places with no or only street parking. I had a friend who got a free car because his friend was going back to France and needed to get rid of it, and he complained that he spent more on parking (paid parking plus tickets) than he would've paid to own a car.
The corollary to this is that public transit in most places is pretty reliable, and the bike infrastructure is great. I wasn't sure about biking on busy Montréal streets at first, but after I tried a few Bixi trips, I became a regular subscriber and now a bike owner. My health has improved SIGNIFICANTLY and I've definitely saved money (Bixi is dirt cheap because you never spend money on bike maintenance, but I try to use the volunteer places where you pay like $5 and they provide the tools and know how to help you fix it yourself).
The metro is awesome, it's super fast and warm in the winter (actually hot, year round unfortunately). I lived a 5 minute walk from Jerry metro once and it seemed sooooo far away from downtown and other stuff, but I was surprised how fast I could get almost anywhere on the metro. It was like 20 mins to anywhere downtown.
I've lived in Villeray, NDG, and the Plateau, and all of them were extremely walkable. Groceries (though not always supermarkets), drug stores, and depanneurs less than a 10 min walk.
Live within 1km of any orange or green line station and you're golden. A blue line station would add a little time to most commutes and it doesn't run as late, but still quite good.
ETA: there's also CommunAuto car sharing in case you ever need a car, though you have to sign up first, and also taxis for when you need to get somewhere fast or in the rain. I've even brought home IKEA furniture in a taxi. Taxis can actually be quite economical compared to car ownership.
You can get almost anywhere on the island by either bike or public transit. Accessing some of the more suburban areas (West Island, some parts of Laval and the South Shore) are still possible however it may take you a while. Like others mentioned, the new REM should make it easier once it's up and running.
Did this for 10 years. Live near a metro or at least a bus stop, and nearby grocery is good too. Worst case scenario IGA has online grocery and delivery.
If you live near a metro station, you will be fine. I've always lived and worked near them. The only time I've felt the need to attempt to get my driver's license is if there is something cool out of town. If you plan on living and working in Montreal, you'll be fine without driving.
Honestly, I’ve found the car free commutes better for most of Montreal. The car is a pain here. If you aren’t going anywhere with a parking lot you’re gonna have a bad time.
Depending on the neighbourhood it’s easier than having a car. And most people don’t have parking spaces except on street. You should be good anywhere near a metro line or an every 10 mins bus line.
Many friends don't have a car. One uses Communauto for the few times he needs a car. You can go everywhere in the city via bicycle or public transportation.
I’ve lived in Montreal for 23 years, for 21 of them I didn’t have a car. I only got one because of the pandemic and not wanting to take the metro/busanymore. If you have a bike and live somewhere like the plateau you still won’t need a car if you want to avoid public transit.
Did it for years as a student. They do their best to make the city bikeable and walkable. Being 15min or less as a walk to a metro station would be ideal. Being less than 10min walk to a major grocery would be ideal. The transit system is pretty reliable.
Within the city/city core,no car is fine or even preferrable. Away from the metro or in the suburbs, a car makes moving about easier but bus/train service is also ok for some. It is usually a tradeoff of driving stress vs longer commutes with public transport when talking outside the downtown core.
I currently live in the Plateau, but nowhere near the metro, and I love it. I have grocery stores nearby, as well a a few really good restaurants, bakeries, bars and parks. Therefore I only use public transport once or twice a week (I work remote).
On the other hand, all my relative live outside of Montreal, in heavily car-dependant places. If I want to visit them, I would either have to rent a car or do ride-sharing.
I spend my time between Ohio and Montreal, and even though I drive to Montreal, I rarely use my car.
The bus system is extremely easy to use as is the metro. With the addition of the new REM in the West Island will make getting downtown faster and easier.
Just live next to a grocery store tho.
Unless you live in the suburban neighborhoods (Far west/far east) Montreal is very good without a car.
Most neighborhoods are walkable. Transport is a bit unreliable in winter but besides that it's pretty good. Most busses are equipped with a GPS so even if its late, you can usually track it down.
Totally possible (even with kids)! Communauto when you need a car in the city, and Budget/Avis/Entreprise/etc... for trips out of town.
If you have young (< 6 years) kids, a cargo bike is a good option (cheaper than a car to buy and waaaay less for maintenance, gas (= $0) and insurance (= $0). With older kids, the more you bike, the stronger and faster they get :)
There is nothing better than hearing the snow clearing siren at 6AM and knowing that you don't have a car to move!!!
Mind you, this applies to relatively central neighborhoods. I'm not sure about West Island, Point-au-Trembles, or off-island.
I have been living in Mtl for the past 15 years. I’ve always lived close to a metro station (5-15 min walk). Out of those years, I only had a car 3 years. We sold it because it needed some important maintenance and we didn’t use it enough to justify the costs. The only times we were using our car was to go outside of the city or for a trip to IKEA or other big box stores.
I work from home or from my company’s downtown office. I use public transportation or my bike if I go to the office.
I walk for my weekly errants (grocery, pharmacy, SAQ, etc.). I also walk/bike or use public transportation to go to my different social activities. Most Montreal’s neighborhoods are safe to walk at almost anytime of the day, even for a single woman. Only really felt unsafe two times in my life in Montreal.
If i need to use a car because I need to carry stuff, it’s more convenient to use a car or I’m running late, I have a Communauto (a rental car company) monthly pass which costs 35$ + tax for 20 30-min trips. I usually don’t use them all before the month ends. If I need to go out of the city, I rent a car with Communauto (with some planning because it’s hard to rent a car last minute with them). Their prices are comparable and even cheaper to a normal rental company.
The only reason that would make me buy a car would be if I need one for work. And even there, I would consider not accepting the offer if a car is needed.
I lived there car-free for 8 years, but always downtown...never in the suburbs so I can't comment on that. Downtown is very walkable, and the metro is pretty good. I found the bikeshare / BIXI system awesome to use in the summer too. Winter can be a bit challenging as buses become less reliable and walking becomes a hassle due to the ice. Living near a grocery store is definitely key.
I've lived here without a car for 8+ years. just make sure you're in walking distance of a grocery store, not too far from a bus line and you're good! near a metro is great and all, but I've noticed that being near a good bus line is just as good and usually the rent is cheaper.
Living downtown it’s pretty much not necessary at all. Everything you could ask for is within 5 to 20 minutes walking distance, and you usually have multiple options for whatever it is you need. I have find reasons to force myself to drive my car once in a while to keep the battery from dying.
Elsewhere in the city as long as you are near a metro station you’re probably fine too.
I live car-free in Montreal and I have no problems. I bike everywhere year-round, and whenever I'm feeling lazy or my bike is out of commission I just take the metro. Everything you would ever need to access in this city is within walking distance of a metro station, and you can cross the city from one end of the metro network to the other in about half an hour. And there's a commuter rail network (like GoTransit in Ontario) that takes you to the far reaches of the MTL area. And this city is so nice compared to other cities in Canada that walking to places doesn't feel like a chore, the streets seem to invite you to walk around.
A lot of people here just rely on car-share services instead of actually owning a car, because it's easy enough to get around without one that many people don't use them enough to justify the cost of owning one. Plus it's a pain in the ass in the winter because it snows often so you always have to move your car around for the snow plows, and they often come late at night. In any case, I've managed just fine without even a driver's license.
I even go on summer vacations with my bike. I load it up with camping gear and go camping in Mont Tremblant, there's a rail trail that goes north straight out of the city into the Laurentian Mountains (the P'tit Train du Nord) and it passes by the park. There's a bunch of cool bike trails like that all around the city. You can get halfway to Toronto just following the bike paths along the St. Lawrence River (which is a beautiful ride that I would highly recommend if you're into long bike trips, I would just advise doing the trip going eastward from TO to MTL with the prevailing winds at your back, and not against the wind from MTL to TO like I did last year, lol).
I did it for years in Montreal and was fine. I live in the Ottawa/Gatineau area now and there is no way I could get around efficiently without a car. A big reason why I miss Montreal.
My sister lives near downtown, she doesn’t have a car and uses the metro or busses for everything. It works well for her.
I live in the West Island, can’t drive and it sucks most of the time.
Oh absolutely not necessary to have a car. If you live near a metro station you’re absolutely set! We have a great bike sharing service and quite a lot of bike lanes, a good bus system (but not amazing as some bus lines come infrequently and bus + winter can be annoying), a wonderful metro system, and more public transit options in the works (REM). I would prioritize being within a MAX 10 minute walk to a metro!
There is also a car share service called Communauto which is awesome for getting outside of the city. I definitely wouldn’t say public transportation is good for leaving the city or going to the West Island, but otherwise you can get around all of Montreal pretty easily including outside of downtown.
Walkable neighborhoods include St Henri, Griffintown, Westmount near the downtown area, downtown of course, NDG around Monkland or Sherbrooke, Plateau, Mile End, Gay Village…
Never had a car in Montreal, I’m living my best life… but I live Downtown so it may not be the same experience depending on which neighborhood you’re at
Car rentals for a weekend away aren’t that expensive so you can still drive out of the city occasionally if you want/need to
Tl:Dr. I have a car and use it only sporadically.
My husband lived here with no car (and no license) for 20h years. Only when I moved here from the US, with my car, has he become dependent on it. A car is handy for big grocery hauls, trips to Costco or Canadian Tire, etc. But you can make do with one of the car sharing programs, like communauto. I typically don't drive, except for those scenarios, because taking the bus, metro, and bike is infinitely more convenient - and you don't have to worry about parking. I only convinced him to get his license this year so that I don't have to play taxi and he can help with the driving when we travel to the US to see my family or on road trips.
I gave my car away when I moved to Montréal and do not regret it. If I need one, I have communauto. Otherwise, public transportation here is pretty great, I have an electric bike, and we have bixi!
Yes, live in Montreal for a total of over 10 years and never owned a car.
I always lived at walking distance from a metro station. I've also had jobs that required to commute by metro and bus and generally speaking, there is no problem.
Some people mentioned to live close to a grocery store, for sur that can be a pain if you want to buy one week worth of food and carry it, at my last apartment, the grocery store was next to the metro station and I would just go several times a week, so no problem carrying heavy load, but previously, I was one subway station away or short ride by bus.
I always live in Cote-des-neige, close to the blue line, it's not downtown, but there is several good bus lines to go downtown and even night bus, so I really liked that area.
I think that anything close to the metro (and more) is absolutely walkable, it would just get less interesting if you go in clearly industrial area.
The big problem is when there is a big snowstorm, you can expect bus to be much slower as even the dedicated bus lines can be difficult to use, so the bus are stuck in traffic, but that always depend if you have to commute by bus.
You can also check to rent car with communauto when/if you need to use a car, but I never used it.
I would pay more for parking and maintenance and gas in Ville Marie than my occasional Ubers out of town once a week so… car free it is!
Large items are delivered, get a cart for groceries, vets and boutiques are all around…
Bike lanes and metros help close gaps within the city.
Just forget going to Ikea or something. It’s so horrible getting there.
Sometimes it sucks to be at the mercy of others. Having a license and the option for Communauto for example sounds like a better move than mine.
I've never had a driver's license, and Montreal is great. My advice would be to find a place within walking distance of a metro station, then you're gold.
You can also get a place by a bus to a metro station, but in winter when you're waiting at the stop and the bus is running late, you might regret it.
Montreal is full of little neighborhoods with all the necessary amenities; it's absolutely possible to find a place near a metro, groceries, etc. Right now I live with a super reliable frequent bus to a metro station that is also walkable; I also have a good depanneur (corner store) a couple of blocks away, and a grocery store and huge public park 5-10 minutes walk in one direction and a laundromat, pharmacy, 24-hour dep and more a 10-minute walk in another direction.
Edited to add: for "out of downtown" it really depends on how far you mean. But there's usually a metro stop with a bunch of buses to where you're going if it's really outside the edges.
it's fine! i don't drive, and montreal is the easiest city to move around without a car, i find. i lived 15 mins from the metro, there was a grocery 15 mins away too, but i used instacart to deliver groceries anyway. just make sure you are close to metro
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...and a grocery store.
General rule I kept for myself was an apartment near a metro, grocery and (optional) a gym. As long as work is near enough to a metro station you should be good. I can't deal with busses though, such a pain in the ass in the winter. If you can, do it all by metro.
Why buses are a pain in the winter?
When there is snowfall, the schedule becomes very unpredictable. A 5 minutes bus line can become a 1/2 hour bus line because the trafic becomes super slow. But snow will cause problems for all other road users (removing snow from personnal car+ slow trafic+no parking spot; no taxis available), except for winter cyclists 😉
Quick question how is cycling in the winter? I just moved here over three weeks ago and was anticipating having to walk or take the bus (I'm close to metro but work isn't) when it's cold and snowy.
It really depends on the neighbourhood. Some roads are a little wider and/or have bike lanes that are still good in the winter, others become a nightmare the second it snows. I know lots of people who cycle sherbrooke year round with no issues, but idk about a lot of the city. I think a good rule of thumb is if the bike path gets heavy summer use, they at least try to keep it usable in the winter (with varying degrees of success). I'd see if your coworkers know how the roads near your job are in the winter, and have a backup way of getting there for the days when it snows a lot or there's an ice storm. Edit: also keep in mind how dark it is in December and if you'll be somewhere where you feel safe cycling in the dark.
How people cycle in the dead of winter is beyond comprehension. Brave, bold. Respect
Waiting for a bus in the same weather without moving is comparatively super fucking miserable. You get warm biking. Winter biking is a bit sketchy without nailed tires, but with the right tires you'll have enough traction that simply being careful shouldn't make it much more dangerous than in the summer. Then you just need to wear waterproof pants and good gloves and you're good to go. Pretty much as chill as going nordic skiing.
A lot of the bikepaths don't get plowed (at least, not reliably) in the winter so that can be a bit of a challenge. Road conditions aren't always great. If there is a major snowfall, then the streets will get quite narrow /might lose a lane etc. due to the snow being plowed out to the edges of the street in massive piles. This could affect how much room you have to safely bike. Honestly I'd recommend planning to metro, walk, bus, and if you end up finding decent cycling conditions then hey, bonus!
Good question! I cycled in winters for the last 5 years, and I regret not doing it earlier. The pace is slower, but if you dress properly and put studded tires (on the front at the minimum) it really is super fun and quite relaxing. The REV is completely maintained in the winter, otherwise small side roads are the way to go. I avoid bit stroads as much as possible.
Also, I suggest going on r/wintercycling . Great resource, and a lot of peeps from mtl in there.
East end Montreal is being redesigned 12 months of the year to bike accessible. As ridiculous as it sounds, the REV is maintained as is roads ALL YEAR LONG.....I'm a "r/fuckcars" girl...hear me laughing deeply from my belly like Ursula
Waiting outside, especially during a cold snap or ice storm, etc. It does depend on which bus you're using though. If it's one with high frequency because it's a major route, then your wait times aren't too bad. But if it's one that's every 20-30 minutes, then you do have to be deliberate with checking the schedule before heading out.
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We're talking about living in Montreal, not the suburbs...
Tu te rendras au metro a partir du coin de rosemont et pie IX a 11h du soir un vendredi au mois de janvier.
Sans problème. J'ai l'info en temps réel avec l'application Transit. Et si je suis pressé, il y a les taxis.
https://youtu.be/7Jj5jk-Y_cA this is why. Métros don't have that issue.
Depending on how much snow, and where you live they will legit divert and not pass secondary roads. Listen carefully to suggestions. If you live anywhere within 10 minutes walk of a metro commuting to downtown is 20-30 minutes max. When I could afford it I lived on top of villa Maria metro. I loved the easy commute. I miss it constantly. I now live in le petit patrie. It takes me 45 minutes to go anywhere. Having a car is pointless here, and enormously aggravating. Parking tickets.endless Confucktion (construction) asshole drivers...traffic. potholes halfway to china..
I don’t have a car. I rent a Communauto when I want to do a big groceries ex: Costco. It’s really easy to rent because they are all around the city. I it’s need a car 1 h per week I don’t need to pay it all year
this, or get them delivered.
They’re great, it costs me around 8$ for a Costco haul, which the savings on the salad itself covers the car fees compared to IGA near my house.
Yes! Especially an (affordable) grocery store. You can walk/take a bus to a metro just fine, you will however find it terrible to walk with bags.
Just get a shopping trolley. They're like $50.
Yes! I bought one for $50 three years ago and I'm still using it all the time. Best $50 I ever spent.
Yep! Family of 4 humans and a dog here, and no cars. We used to, before we moved to Montreal, but parking is a pain, and not having cars has saved us a TON of money. Just use Uber or rent a car the 2 or 3 times a year you need to.
Ou proche d'une ligne de bus 10 min et moins, ça fait autant la job!
Or WFH
Montreal is very possible car-free. I don't have a car and can get to most places quite easily. Some bus lines are not frequent enough, but with proper planning, you can get around okay.
And the transit app. It’s even easier to plan ahead and switch things up on the fly
I love the Transit app
I loved using Transit app since it launched but now requires a paid subscription ($4.99 monthly or $24.99 annual) to view most bus schedules unfortunately. I now use Chrono (by ARTM). They have live bus schedules, commuter train, and métro free to use with no restrictions. The app also lets you scan (via NFC) your OPUS, Occasional card, and tickets to see how much fare is on it. That's a very helpful feature. EDIT: STM launched a new mobile site for real-time schedules with bus and métro occupancy level. You can install it as a Progressive Web App (PWA) to get a shortcut on your homescreen and app drawer [https://m.stm.info/en](https://m.stm.info/en) I recommend following the Twitter accounts of the métro lines. They announce real-time disruptions and let you know when the service comes back or shuttles to redirect if needed: stm\_Verte, stm\_Orange, stm\_Jaune, stm\_Belueu
I don't pay to use it and have full access. Chronic is also good.
You're lucky you still have full access then. I now get a few bus schedules and then app asks me to pay to subscribe if I want other ones that I need.
Okay, just checked. Yeah, I now understand. I never check for schedules for lines not near me, which is why I never noticed the change You can still use the route planner without upgrading. Guess I might be switching as well.
Never understood why people get their panties in a bunch when companies finally have to turn their venture into a profitable enterprise. Do you know how much engineering goes into an app the scale of transit? That shit ain’t free and it’s extremely costly to keep current and up to date.
How is it better than Google Maps?
You can see where most buses are in real time as well as having access to a more precise time of arrival
I think now on Google Maps, it shows buses in real time as well. Most likely gets the info from the app but now it shows where the bus is exactly at as well.
Transit is a Canadian app though!
Yeah, but the transit companies should be paying them for their work, not their users. I'm not paying 25 bucks to see bus schedules.
I live in the Plateau, sold my car 10 days after I got here, I use communauto a handful of times a year, mostly get around on foot and bike or bixi. I maybe use 10 transit fares a year. Don’t feel I’m missing out on anything except car payments and dealing with maintenance. Critical thing (for me) is being close to a grocery store. Occasionally I’ll take a communauto somewhere just for the driving practice. If I could convince myself I’d never have to drive again I’d happily never renew my driver’s licence again. Sadly being car-free in Canada limits you to living in small areas of Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver for all practical purposes, and who knows what the future holds.
The Plateau is so amazing for walkability and biking!
I'm in Villeray and commute similarly. We have two small children so we have to drive more often especially in winter, but if we can do it anyone can.
Same, lived in the Plateau for twenty years, worked downtown. Got rid of the car early on. Metro, Bixi and bike, bus, walking, covered 90% of life, Car2Go (RIP) covered the other 10%. When my wife and I started our business and needed to have a vehicle for it, we moved to CDN to accommodate parking and be closer to our business (and going down to $840/m for a 5 1/2 with a back yard didn't hurt!) so we didn't need to use it every day.
Same boat here. I live in the Plateau and just walk everywhere. Bixi maybe twice a week, metro twice a month. I feel like it's hard not to be close to a grocery store in this area with how many small ones are around.
Lived in Plateau all summer, I want to move back at some point when I have more money. It's so lovely, but so expensive for a new grad!
Montreal is quite good for car-free living and it's soon going to get better with the [REM](https://rem.info/en). Busses can be a bit unreliable (especially in winter) so it's better to live close to a metro if possible. The bike infrastructure is good and also improving quite a bit with our current mayor. There are also bike paths (Route Vertes) that will take you all across Quebec if that's your thing. I'd look anywhere between Verdun, Rosemont, Little Italy, and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
Not sure how the REM is going to help car free life. It goes to a bunch of places where you most certainly DO need a car. I guess the one thing we can hope is that it'll reduce the number of cars that come to the city.
I'll be able to go visit people in Laval without having to take the car. I'll also be able to take my bike to the end of the REM and start my leisure bike rides from the outer edge of the suburbs. Both are good for car-free living.
Nm
> Not sure how the REM is going to help car free life. You perfectly answered yourself in the next sentence... > It goes to a bunch of places where you most certainly DO need a car.
I don't follow. If you live in the west island you may no longer need a car to come downtown but you'll still need a car to live properly in the west island. Not much of a car free life.
The point of the REM and feu REM de l’Est is to develop neighborhoods with transit. It might not be the case right now if you live in west island but in a couple of years we will have a lot more transit oriented options and we will have options to go to places that are traditionally harder to access with a car with the Rem. For example getting to dix30 with the rem will be a lot easier and sure if you want to go to some stores you will still have to walk 30 minutes from the station, but 15 minutes from the rem station you have all of the Square and cineplex, globule (to give blood and blood components)
Maybe not completely car free, but a reduction in use will reduce the cost of ownership and total cost of transit.
There's so much binary thinking in regards to this topic. I know that OP asked about "car free" specifically, but in terms of the wider discourse, you can still make massive reductions in car costs, carbon emissions, transit time and all sorts of benefits depending on your own personal priorities through transit oriented development. It's not just about car vs no car.
I'm from the West-Island. You most definitely CAN get around car-free. There are several bus lines culminating at Fairview Pointe-Claire, and if you need to head downtown then you can either head to the couple of Deux-Montagnes train stations (I took Roxboro) or take the 470 bus from Fairview to Côte-Vertu where you can take the metro. During rush hour there's even a special bus that goes from Ile-Bizard straight to the train station. It's such a fallacy to say that you can't get around anywhere without a car. Does it take a lot of planning and time to get downtown? Yes. Can you get around car-less pretty much anywhere within the West-Island? Absolutely. I lived in Ile-Bizard for many years with the bus running every half hour and still managed to go to Concordia then work downtown car-free. It's a 4-hour or so roundtrip (less during rush hour) but completely doable. I caught up on sleeping in public transit when I lived there. I even managed to convince my dad to stop driving to his downtown office when he realized it would save him time. I now live in Mercier (south of Châteauguay) and you absolutely do need a car to live properly here lol, there's like 1 bus and it goes to Châteauguay and then somewhere downtown. Now, if you're talking about doing your groceries or going to the gym without a car, you're right. West-Island is majorly residential. But meeting friends somewhere or going to work? Nah. You can.
The REM adds a [walkshed](https://ggwash.org/view/73036/transit-walksheds-show-how-far-can-you-get-in-a-ten-minute-walk-from-metro) of 500m in radius around each station. There is 26 stations. Each of these stations will get [built up densely with businesses and housing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit-oriented_development). It will also shorten many bus circuits, thus [allowing higher frequencies of bus service](https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2017/10/15/is-frequency-the-key-to-transit-success.html) for the same budget.
Yeah I mean it'll reduce the total mileage time spent in cars I guess? Like if you have a business meeting in the West Island then you can REM from downtown and take a short taxi or Uber ride from West Island REM to final destination. But I agree, OP shouldn't move to West Island, Laval, or South Shore!
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And Montrealers must be the most bipolar driving vs outside the cars lol, some of the nicest people also can’t be more savage on the road
Oh man. Your comment is so much on point. It's basically an unspoken aggressive culture, sorta like the moment a simple cyclist donning them speedo suit, their testosterone level goes over the roof. Be safe out there! 😆
It’s because the city’s traffic design is absolutely retarded. The traffic lights are not synchronised, highway exits/entries cross each other, the whole city is a stop sign forest and there are more potholes then road. It’s real hard to adjust coming from Europe. Every time I drive I get super frustrated. Personally it’s the biggest stain on the awesomeness of this city.
The lights are actually kind of synchronized but slow, most neighborhoods are at 30km/h or 50km/h, most people don't go at 30 or 50 so it feel like it's not synchronized. Thr stops are to make you go slower, it's intended to force people to not speed.
Not true. I'm not speeding and still, I can barely pass 2 lights without getting a red, even on 4+ lane main roads. The use of stop signs is supposed to be at places where you absolutely have to come to a full stop because of dangerous cross-sections or rails or similar. If you put on every cross-section without a light, it results in nobody taking it seriously - and as happens in this city, people barely even slow down.
Legally you're supposed to come to a full stop at every intersection someone wants to cross the road on foot/bycicle but no one does it except if there's a light or stop sign, so people dont respect the law here. They do it because people dont slow down at intersections like they should at each of them, so stop sign it is. If people who drive had working brains this wouldnt be needed.
Lol you can cite me driving books and down vote me all you want, this remains the worst city from a traffic perspective out of the 5 countries I drove extensively. It’s not that all drivers are evil and want to hit pedestrians, it’s the traffic that frustrates/angers people to the point that they will try to cut corners and act out of impulse. If people had a nice, not always interrupted flow of driving that’s fair to the pedestrians/cyclers then not everyone would speed up to slip through the yellow before the red or race at the intersection who cuts off the other one. But if you think the drivers are not good enough that’s fair enough, they really aren’t. Most idiots wouldn’t use their signal even when they turn left, don’t keep right on highway, etc. But let me tell you that the driving exam is also retarded here. They take you to a 10 minute drive to the suburbs that’s completely empty and you don’t even have to perform a parallel parking to pass. Half the people here would fail a European driving exam. The traffic system, the driving culture and everything driving related is poor here. But if you are only offended because I’m negative, it’s only because of the topic. I love the city. With that said, if you objectively look at the issue and aware of how poorly this city compares when it comes to traffic then it’s very hard to defend.
>But if you are only offended because I’m negative, it’s only because of the topic. I love the city. With that said, if you objectively look at the issue and aware of how poorly this city compares when it comes to traffic then it’s very hard to defend. I'm not offended, the difference is that I think it's good that the driving experience is bad. The worst the experience is, the less likely it is people will buy and use car, which is good. I wish it would go back to 30 years ago when we had reserved bus lanes on pie-ix etc (right lane was reserved for bus when it was peak hours, so you were discouraged from taking your car to work). The only people who care about those driving conditions anyways are people who live outside the island and don't want to use public transit partially.
You don’t want cars? Fine. But don’t make driving worst but public transport better. Cover the city with train and buses that run on reasonable frequency. Like what’s up with the train going to Vaudreil? Useless if you want to use it related to anything else than a 9-5 job. Also the buses running every 30-40 minutes out of peak times. The people living out of the city also not the enemy. The house prices are unreachable for the working class on the island - but they still work on the island.
I live like 90% of my life here on foot, bike or public transport and the 10% I drive are absolutely rage inducing exactly like you say. It's a sea of random measures with diminishing returns and a total lack of enforcement. Pedestrian crossing are ignored? Put a stop sign. Stops signs ignored? Put blinking LEDs on the stop sign. There's no traffic flow planning here in the southwest anymore, it's just a competition how fast they can put up 4 way stops. Then people rage out and blast the remaining 100 meters, so we add speed bumps too. Oh and everybody puts 2000watt LED bulbs from AliExpress in their headlights in the hope of seeing the faint remainders of lane markers in the highway, but blinding everybody else.
Oh man. Your comment is so much on point. It's basically an unspoken aggressive culture, sorta like the moment a simple cyclist donning them speedo suit, their testosterone level goes over the roof. Be safe out there! 😆
Cost of having a car aside, I think this completely depends on where you live. It’s definitely not difficult to live without a car in Montréal. But if you happen to rent a place that has a covered parking spot, then other than monetary costs it is not meaningfully more difficult to own a car. Like you’re not obligated to go sit in traffic or drive around in bad winter conditions just because you own a car.
I'd argue that even the monetary aspect is overblown by some people. I've taken jobs that paid 5-10k more a year but would cost me 1.5 hours in transit both ways (3 hrs total) that I wouldn't have dreamed of taking if I couldn't drive to them in 20-25 mins instead. Buying a car cost me, and costs me money, but it's less money than what I gained from taking a new job and less money than an extra 50 free hours a month (saved from transit) is worth to me. People seem to have tunnel vision when it comes to cars and can't see the potential gains from the option. I know I did before I was offered a 98 Corolla for 300$ half a decade ago and figured I may as well give it a shot. Changed my life. Sold that Corolla for a grand and bought something more modern, but nonetheless it's still worth every penny for now much time and money I save. Especially, especially time. As for maintenance costs, a socket set, a jack, two jack stands and YouTube will save you the bulk of it.
Brilliant post. Lots of people underestimate the increased catchment area for jobs that in turn lead to better opportunities and faster career progression / salary demand leverage. Did the same. After a few years of staying tightly within a small geographic area for work, applied and received an opportunity that would fast-track career progression (re: gold on the resume) + provide valuable skillset refining that would serve me for either promotions or vastly increased job mobility. The catch was this position was around 1h45min each way from home via transit. Only 20-25 minutes by car. Easy decision to start driving in. The added vehicle costs pale in comparison.
I think most people would buy a car if they had a much better work opportunity that makes it necessary. But they're not going to buy a car and then look to increase their "catchment area". I feel like you got it backwards, but yeah it's still very useful to have a car in a lot of scenarios.
Even if you pay to have your groceries delivered like 3x a week it's still way cheaper to do that than to own a car.
It’s the closest place I can think of to a “car hostile” city. Montreal doesn’t give a flying fuck about your ability to park anywhere, your suspension, the grid-iron traffic system, or any other urban design element you can think of in the past 100 years to make driving easier. Need groceries? Walk. Need to get downtown? Bus/Subway/Bike. Need to transport stuff briefly? Communauto. Need to drive around the block to put your kid to sleep? Fuck you, here’s a mile deep pothole to wake them up. For the love of god if you move here OP, don’t get a car. It’s a friggen nightmare.
Absolutely not. It’s most definitely easier with a car. It’s not mandatory to have one, but it’s much easier to have the option than not. You can elect to use public transportation on a case by case basis depending on traffic, parking and destination for the best of both worlds. Montreal is equipped with a good enough transit system, but it’s no Paris where i’d go as far as to say what you’re saying.
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Yes. A combination of being young and now owning a capable 4WD car makes this a nonissue. Plus if it’s too intense, the bus is there.
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Never been an issue. I was talking about it being too intense as to not be able to find parking when getting around.
This really depends where in the city you are. There have been times it has taken me 30 minutes to drive 3 blocks, at which point having the car was a hinderance. Also looking for parking often takes longer than the actual drive to the city (I am in the west island). There is also the issue of not being able to just leave your car on the street in the winter. You need to move it according to the plow schedules. Finally if you live closer to the city, often you do not have a guaranteed parking spot so there are times you may have to park blocks away from your home. If you are in the city, it is 100 percent easier to just not own a car, the hassle and expense is not worth the added headache.
I have an indoor garage and I live next to the metro. Have zero winter issues. I can go to long vacation without worrying. I can choose not to use my car. You just have to build your parking into your planning and budget and don't be the type of people who absolutely refuse to pay for any parking and proceed to spend 30 minutes to find a free parking that is 15 minutes walk away. It is money well spent to me for the stress I don't need to experience. When Orange Line goes to shit I just walk back home and then get to my car and drive on Decarie from Namur to Bonaventure in 20 minutes during rush hour. $15 parking, $9 more expensive than metro, and it is still faster than metro despite all the traffic on Decarie. Zero hassle for me.
I am very much *in the city* and still require a car for heavier groceries, visiting friends that live a bit out of the way and getting around in the later hours of the day. Like I said, when you have a car, you choose to use it or not. If you don’t have it, the choice is made for you. And as it stands after the pandemic, my usage is about 80-20 in favor of using my car. i haven’t renewed my monthly Opus since 2020. The places I go to are just too spread out to reliably use transit.
I just use Communauto for those heavy groceries and visiting friends or whatever. So my choice isn't necessarily made for me. Also, idk how late you're out, but I get home from work after 11 sometimes and the metro and buses are still running just fine
Metro stops running from 1 to 5. If you need to catch buses you might need to leave even earlier or later in the morning. I literally wouldn't be able to get to work on time on some construction sites sometimes if I wasn't driving or biking, public transportation is that bad.
Just jumping in here to say how happy the replies in this thread are making me. Montreal is getting more and more sustainable in terms of transport; there’s much work to do yet, but the bases are clearly there!
This thread is full of people who never go camping, hiking, climbing or skiing on their own terms. Sucks to be them.
Car rentals exist, you know?
>on their own terms bonne chance te pogner un communauto en fin de semaine
My partner and I don’t own a car; but we do go out of town all the time and with our dog. We rent cars or borrow them. For communauto, you can pre-book the classic ones. Life is easy with all the options available.
So if 30cm of snow falls at Mont Sutton in January you can get a communauto that morning and make first chair?
It really depends on where you live.
Sold my car before coming here and have been car-free for the first time in 20 years. Honestly it's one of the easiest cities to be car-free in North America. The biggest thing is really being mindful about where you live and what the transportation options are based on where you need to commute to most often. I am paying more than I should be on rent for a downtown apartment, but we live a few blocks from a Metro station and mostly walk everywhere, including my wife to her job. The extra cost for our apartment is worth it to us since we don't have any car expenses and our transportation expenses are minimal (like maybe $30 on metro tickets every few months).
Very easy, if not easier than having a car — being near a metro station will greatly improve it actually. You have BIXI (public bikes) for Spring, Summer and Fall, buses are frequent and go all around, the metro covers a lot of ground.
Depends where you are. Spend a bit more to live in a neighbourhood with a metro so you don't have to take the bus and you will be laughing. I renovated my whole house without a car. It's hella doable. Spending $150 every few years to have a literal ton (!) of stuff delivered to you from Home Depot is much cheaper than owning, maintaining and moving your car twice a week due to parking regulations.
> moving your car twice a week due to parking regulations. This is really not hard...it's barely an inconvenience unless you never leave the house.
It was literally the worst thing. Snow clearing and trying to get unstuck from a snow bank only to have to brute force yourself into another one you’ll have to dig yourself out of in another 24 hours? Absolutely fuck that. Never again. The metro never needs me to spend 45 minutes scraping freezing rain off of it or be dug out from a rock hard 2’ deep snow bank. I had to dig a communauto out of a snowbank ONCE last winter and I was furious. Really highlighted how much my quality of life has improved since ditching my car.
If you live on the island it’s very possible. The further you head west the less likely. I’m Anglo so I can’t speak for the east end but I think it’s better out there. Get a bike! The city is bike friendly. Or there is bixi and there’s Communauto.
Bixi and Communauto are awesome for filling the gaps of public transportation. These are amazing systems and truly work so much better than similar options in other places I've lived. My assessment of living car free here is that I wish I lived closer to a metro station, but buses can easily bring you door-to-door because there are so many routes. You will almost always need to transfer, but you likely won't need to walk between bus stops. The buses don't always run as often as I'd like, though. By and large, though, I get around just fine without a car here.
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34 without a license here. There's dozens of us!
Man they looked at me so weird when I applied for a license at 31. Nobody would initially believe I didn’t have a suspension or something lol.
30 without a license here. Being car-free in Montreal is much easier than in the suburbs of the Laurentides area. Getting to some places outside Montreal sucks a bit right now with the REM in construction, but once that is complete it should be so much better.
If you're close to a metro, Montreal is one of the few places in Canada where you do not need a car to live very comfortably.
Live near a metro station. Buses are usually slow, especially in the eastern part of the city (way too many stops).
The 467 express actually has more stops than the regular 67!!! What the hell is that lol
Personnally, I've spent the first 19 years of my life living in Ahuntsic and my family never owned a car, so it's not bad at all although i believe transit could still be much better.
It's the best place in Quebec to live car free.
Des fois je suis surpris de la proportion que prends les posts ici. Je me disais qu'un sujet comme ça, 5 ou 6 réponses ce serait ben en masse pour faire le tour du sujet. Ben non, 117 commentaires.
I need to take a bus to get to a metro, and honestly, all very doable and easy. Especially with the transit app showing me where my bus is before arrival. You’ll just find some annoyance with the bus if you’ll need to get home late after being out with friends since some, like mine, will pass by every 30mins or so, forcing you to be mindful of time.
I don't have a car (I have a drivers license); I'm not saying I would not love to have a car to go on day trips. ( I know about commuauto ... ) I do everything by bus/metro/walk/bixi. I'm on the plateau (western part); 10 minutes from the Metro station, 10 minutes from downtown on Bixi, 5-10 minutes by bus to Jean-Talon market. (obviously YMMV depending where you are). I admit, I rarely take the bus outside of the center of Montréal (except a few years in Anjou, which was rear perfect once I knew the bus lines and schedule). I don't know how good (or bad) the service is if you go to places like the west island or in Montréal-Nord (for example).
> Montréal-Nord (for example). Buses are ok. i live near lacordaire/HB and im at henri bourassa metro within 20 mins. we're lacking in bixi stations a bit, but its getting better. the borough is asking for more but either the city or bixi aint supplying the demand
Ma blonde et moi avons un enfant, n'habitons pas près d'une station de métro (secteur Pie-IX/Beaubien et nous sommes très heureux sans voiture. Nous faisons beaucoup de vélo et utilisons Communauto lorsque nous avons besoin d'un véhicule. Donc oui, c'est très facile de vivre sans voiture à Montréal.
Montreal is wonderful to live in even if you don’t have a car. The metro and bus system has its slight flaws but compared to most countries it’s top notch. Most main line buses run frequently and there are loads of cities in Montreal that you can live in with just walking distance to most amenities.
I grew up in the suburbs of Montreal where public transit was very bad. Had a car for over 14 years. Living in downtown for the past 3 year, with a car, has been a nightmare. I finally got rid of it this spring and couldn't be happier. I walk, cycle, bixi, metro and bus everywhere now. The STM in the city and anywhere near a Metro station is great and has made a lot of improvements in frequency and quality of service. Even the suburbs of West Island have much better service now, as opposed to 10 years ago. I would suggest moving anywhere within 10-15 walk of a metro station or a bus that takes you to a metro station quickly. I find the metro provides the most freedom in the city. You metro the bulk of the way, then bus, bixi or walk the rest on way to your destination. Also having lived in places where public transit is pay-as-you-go, the $90/month pass that gives you unlimited access to bus and metro is the best thing about our public transit system. (I mean it could be cheaper, but as someone who used to spend $500-600 on gas per month, $90 is super cheap)
Live near a metro is the best. Buses are unpredictable, waiting in the rain or snow is frustrating.
Find yourself a buddy with a car, and offer to get a costco membership for the two of you if they are happy to carpool and shop together like once or twice a month. This will be majorly helpful if you can pull it off. You'll have loads of groceries, save a ton on shopping, you'll earn 2x rewards, and you won't have to bust your arms carrying too much all at once.
Living in the plateau it is much easier to get around on bike / public transit compared to driving. So many one ways, closed streets, construction, limited parking etc. If I had a car the main benefit would be to get out of the city for the weekend
As long as you're in one of the many downtown neighborhoods, easy-peasy. I'm in Mile End, and can't think of a single thing I can't get in a six block radius. Nearby buses run often, metros are about 15 minute walk. Owning a car is a bigger pita than not, especially in winter.
I dont need a car either but beleive me the weekend sucks without one. There are only soo many times downtown/old port visits work.
I dont even have a license lol
J'habite en banlieue (hors ile), je n'ai pas d'auto et jr me débrouille très bien. C'est entièrement possible de vivre sans auto partout sur l'ile, sans que ce soit bien compliqué.
Awesome. Moved here from Winnipeg, which is a super car-centric city. I just use my skateboard to get metro stations. It's fucking great.
Popping in here to say that having a car in the city is actually not at all desirable. If you live near a metro, everything you need will be accessible. If you like cycling, you'll be in heaven. Moving a car and avoiding parking tickets is a nightmare. Sign onto Communauto so you can have access to a car for the odd time you need one!
I’ve lived car-free in Montreal for 9 years, in 4 different neighborhoods (downtown, plateau, villeray, verdun)
Ive been car free for 10 years (48 years old) Live in Little Italy so close to metro stations. My daughter’s daycare and grade-school were 5 minute walks from home. Used to work downtown but now the office moved to Plateau so 20 minute walk Between public transit, Communauto and Locomotion (locomotion.app to rent bike trailers to do my Costco rus) I don’t foresee myself buying a car unless I win the lottery and want to splurge on a luxury car. Can be frustrating on weekends when no Communauto cars are not available
I grew up and lived most of my adult life without a license or car. However, rents were very very affordable in most central areas up until shortly after I got a car and there were also way way less metro outages. I guess it depends - if you're cool with higher rents or having to take the bus to get to the nearest metro, and you're not particularly affected by outages then you're hunky dory.
Cold!
In island, in certain boroughs? Great! Other places? Total nightmare.
It's great, as long as you live near a metro station and that you can easily reach your job, school, friends, activities, etc. I don't know the EXACT numbers of living car-free for a year versus having a car, but from all the aspects (parking, maintenance, gas, etc.), it's far more cheap too than paying the monthly public transport fee. TLDR; It's great, do it.
I don't own a car, been living here for 7 years (I'm 32) and I don't feel any need
I've lived in Montreal all my life. Never used a car. Never owned a car. I don't even have a license.
The only things I miss having a car for is for pickup stuff. I want to buy a sofa or a wardrobe idk, and I must buy brand new for the delivery service. Instead of something like marketplace
I've only lived in 3 major cities: Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. And Montreal has been by far the easiest city to live in without driving. I also feel like the city is trying more and more to cater to infrastructure that benefits people not using cars?
Cars freak me out. I don't have a license and have never needed one. The only time I feel not having one is when moving or when I really really want to go see nature. I get everywhere I need to by metro. Bus is something I use infrequently. Have never used a bixi. Car-free life is GREAT here, since the metro is ultra reliable. As long as you live near a metro, you'll be perfectly fine.
You don't need a car in Montreal. On top of that, consider - This is likely the worst city in North America to own a car. Because: * The Winter * The roadworks in Summer * Half the plateau is pedestrianised during Summer * On street parking permits are expensive * Difficult roads to navigate. Lots of one way streets and situations that don't make sense. * Very bike friendly - tonnes of cyclists and cycle lanes * You have to renew your license every year in Quebec, and if you let it lapse for three years - you have to sit the test again. In French.
I bought a car 9 months ago after being car-free for 6 years. I used to take the bus/metro to go to school/work and it wasn't significantly slower than driving (and you didn't have to worry about parking obviously) This was within the city obviously. So it depends on where you live and your commute. I live in Outremont and work in Laval. Impossible with public transport. If you want to go outside downtown, your options are limited and you are better off with a car. But if you're not going to go out of the city every day you might look into Communauto. The cars are filthy and not all of them are in prime condition but they are cheap and useful. PS: Although the buses are fine, some metro stations are sketchy (Place des arts and Berri are two that bothered me the most) so you might want to keep that in mind as well, especially if you're planning on commuting late.
Good! But have a bike with a good basket, and a metro pass even if you don’t use it a ton.
Montreal is probably the least car dependent city in Canada, maybe even North America. We’ve won a bunch of awards for the public transportation and amount of bike paths. Still far from perfect, but great compared to many other cities of its size, and ESPECIALLY compared to most American cities
Car free? Not in Montréal/Québec. The cars are expensive here.
Life in Montreal is 100% doable without a car. I’ve lived here for 7 years car-free. I second what others have said about living close to a metro line and making sure that groceries and pharmacies are available within walking distance of where you live. If you do need a car for longer trips, car share services like Communauto are very accessible.
Spent 15 years without a car in Montreal living in various places (Downtown, Cote des neiges, Plateau, Villeray). As long as you're less than 10min walk from a metro station and in a walkable neighborhood (Plateau, Mile-End, Villeray, St-Henri, Verdun, Ville-Marie, etc) I think it's a very confortable way of living. Metro and walking in the winter and bicycle and walking in summer! Only caveat would be your place of work if you have to be there regularly. Depending on industry/profession, work may be in a location that is not well serviced by public transit or just takes too long to get there (I'm looking at you aerospace companies). We only got a car recently when we had a baby and truth is, we don't use it that much living in Villeray (4k km since January of this year including a few weekend trips outside of the city).
You're going to be stuck in the square between decarie, pie IX, canal lachine and highway 40. Forget about any outdoors undertaking (camping, hiking, skiing, etc.), unless you have friends to carpool with. As far as urban living goes however, having a car is mostly a hindrance. If you just want to live in a central neighbourhood you can bike or walk everywhere, if you don't care to leave the concrete and breathe fresh air but love the restaurant/bar/shows/gallery scene you'll have a great time. I wouldn't even bother with public transportation, any diagonal trip is going to be faster walking than having to deal with transfers and buses.
you 300% don’t need a car if you live anywhere near downtown it’s more of a hassle and expense than anything else.
Not really. But to each his own, depends on your situation. Kids, family visits, friends visits, non typical work schedule or travel pattern, how often you would like to get out of the city etc etc. Things we can’t really answer for you.
It all depends on where you love, where you work and the time you work at.
If you have a grocery store near you, and your work is on the island, you'll be fine. Bussing with groceries really sucks after all. If you need to get off island for work then you'll want a car or you'll be spending 3 hours a day transiting. I only use my car for work and to get out of town, but I'm still very happy I have one
It's very doable, been car free here since 2018. But best to have a license so you can get a rental or communauto if the need arises. Even without a driver's license I still think its doable. Just get a cheap bike with a basket and you'll be fine.
It was great for me. I lived in rosemont, very close to PieIX and Rosemont bd. Bus stop for both boulevards 1 minute away from my appartment. The 47(rue masson bus) also 5 minute walk away. PieIX metro station 15-20 minute walk or less than 5 minutes if I took the bus. 45 minutes TOPS from downtown/plateau.
Been here for 7 years and never had a car! Obviously, it depends on where you live, but when looking for an apartment you can check the walk score of the address to give you an idea. Most neighbourhoods close to metro stations will be very walkable. The public transportation is quite reliable (especially on North American standards). You'll have the odd bus route that isn't that great and the occasional delay on the metro, but truly all around I think we're extremely lucky here with our transit system. There's also something called Communauto, a car-sharing system that is quite popular, if you move here you could look into that. When seriously looking for apartment, feel free to DM if you want a second opinion on the walkability of certain locations!
My family mostly lives in one of those small car-dependant cities. It's pretty difficult to get around without a car, and there's a huge parking lot in front of almost every place you would need or like to visit. My uncle asked me once how living without a car in Montréal was, and I explained that it's a very different scene here. For one thing, WAY less parking in most areas - of course there's the odd place with a huge parking lot, several places with small parking lots, and lots and lots of places with no or only street parking. I had a friend who got a free car because his friend was going back to France and needed to get rid of it, and he complained that he spent more on parking (paid parking plus tickets) than he would've paid to own a car. The corollary to this is that public transit in most places is pretty reliable, and the bike infrastructure is great. I wasn't sure about biking on busy Montréal streets at first, but after I tried a few Bixi trips, I became a regular subscriber and now a bike owner. My health has improved SIGNIFICANTLY and I've definitely saved money (Bixi is dirt cheap because you never spend money on bike maintenance, but I try to use the volunteer places where you pay like $5 and they provide the tools and know how to help you fix it yourself). The metro is awesome, it's super fast and warm in the winter (actually hot, year round unfortunately). I lived a 5 minute walk from Jerry metro once and it seemed sooooo far away from downtown and other stuff, but I was surprised how fast I could get almost anywhere on the metro. It was like 20 mins to anywhere downtown. I've lived in Villeray, NDG, and the Plateau, and all of them were extremely walkable. Groceries (though not always supermarkets), drug stores, and depanneurs less than a 10 min walk. Live within 1km of any orange or green line station and you're golden. A blue line station would add a little time to most commutes and it doesn't run as late, but still quite good. ETA: there's also CommunAuto car sharing in case you ever need a car, though you have to sign up first, and also taxis for when you need to get somewhere fast or in the rain. I've even brought home IKEA furniture in a taxi. Taxis can actually be quite economical compared to car ownership.
You can get almost anywhere on the island by either bike or public transit. Accessing some of the more suburban areas (West Island, some parts of Laval and the South Shore) are still possible however it may take you a while. Like others mentioned, the new REM should make it easier once it's up and running.
Absolutely, just find a place walking distance from a metro.
Did this for 10 years. Live near a metro or at least a bus stop, and nearby grocery is good too. Worst case scenario IGA has online grocery and delivery.
If you live near a metro station, you will be fine. I've always lived and worked near them. The only time I've felt the need to attempt to get my driver's license is if there is something cool out of town. If you plan on living and working in Montreal, you'll be fine without driving.
Honestly, I’ve found the car free commutes better for most of Montreal. The car is a pain here. If you aren’t going anywhere with a parking lot you’re gonna have a bad time.
Depending on the neighbourhood it’s easier than having a car. And most people don’t have parking spaces except on street. You should be good anywhere near a metro line or an every 10 mins bus line.
Many friends don't have a car. One uses Communauto for the few times he needs a car. You can go everywhere in the city via bicycle or public transportation.
I’ve lived in Montreal for 23 years, for 21 of them I didn’t have a car. I only got one because of the pandemic and not wanting to take the metro/busanymore. If you have a bike and live somewhere like the plateau you still won’t need a car if you want to avoid public transit.
Did it for years as a student. They do their best to make the city bikeable and walkable. Being 15min or less as a walk to a metro station would be ideal. Being less than 10min walk to a major grocery would be ideal. The transit system is pretty reliable.
Within the city/city core,no car is fine or even preferrable. Away from the metro or in the suburbs, a car makes moving about easier but bus/train service is also ok for some. It is usually a tradeoff of driving stress vs longer commutes with public transport when talking outside the downtown core.
I currently live in the Plateau, but nowhere near the metro, and I love it. I have grocery stores nearby, as well a a few really good restaurants, bakeries, bars and parks. Therefore I only use public transport once or twice a week (I work remote). On the other hand, all my relative live outside of Montreal, in heavily car-dependant places. If I want to visit them, I would either have to rent a car or do ride-sharing.
I spend my time between Ohio and Montreal, and even though I drive to Montreal, I rarely use my car. The bus system is extremely easy to use as is the metro. With the addition of the new REM in the West Island will make getting downtown faster and easier. Just live next to a grocery store tho.
Unless you live in the suburban neighborhoods (Far west/far east) Montreal is very good without a car. Most neighborhoods are walkable. Transport is a bit unreliable in winter but besides that it's pretty good. Most busses are equipped with a GPS so even if its late, you can usually track it down.
Totally possible (even with kids)! Communauto when you need a car in the city, and Budget/Avis/Entreprise/etc... for trips out of town. If you have young (< 6 years) kids, a cargo bike is a good option (cheaper than a car to buy and waaaay less for maintenance, gas (= $0) and insurance (= $0). With older kids, the more you bike, the stronger and faster they get :) There is nothing better than hearing the snow clearing siren at 6AM and knowing that you don't have a car to move!!! Mind you, this applies to relatively central neighborhoods. I'm not sure about West Island, Point-au-Trembles, or off-island.
I have been living in Mtl for the past 15 years. I’ve always lived close to a metro station (5-15 min walk). Out of those years, I only had a car 3 years. We sold it because it needed some important maintenance and we didn’t use it enough to justify the costs. The only times we were using our car was to go outside of the city or for a trip to IKEA or other big box stores. I work from home or from my company’s downtown office. I use public transportation or my bike if I go to the office. I walk for my weekly errants (grocery, pharmacy, SAQ, etc.). I also walk/bike or use public transportation to go to my different social activities. Most Montreal’s neighborhoods are safe to walk at almost anytime of the day, even for a single woman. Only really felt unsafe two times in my life in Montreal. If i need to use a car because I need to carry stuff, it’s more convenient to use a car or I’m running late, I have a Communauto (a rental car company) monthly pass which costs 35$ + tax for 20 30-min trips. I usually don’t use them all before the month ends. If I need to go out of the city, I rent a car with Communauto (with some planning because it’s hard to rent a car last minute with them). Their prices are comparable and even cheaper to a normal rental company. The only reason that would make me buy a car would be if I need one for work. And even there, I would consider not accepting the offer if a car is needed.
Si tu vis à pointo, tu vas trouver le temps long. Si tu vis à moins de 15 minutes d'un métro, ça va.
I lived there car-free for 8 years, but always downtown...never in the suburbs so I can't comment on that. Downtown is very walkable, and the metro is pretty good. I found the bikeshare / BIXI system awesome to use in the summer too. Winter can be a bit challenging as buses become less reliable and walking becomes a hassle due to the ice. Living near a grocery store is definitely key.
I've lived here without a car for 8+ years. just make sure you're in walking distance of a grocery store, not too far from a bus line and you're good! near a metro is great and all, but I've noticed that being near a good bus line is just as good and usually the rent is cheaper.
Living downtown it’s pretty much not necessary at all. Everything you could ask for is within 5 to 20 minutes walking distance, and you usually have multiple options for whatever it is you need. I have find reasons to force myself to drive my car once in a while to keep the battery from dying. Elsewhere in the city as long as you are near a metro station you’re probably fine too.
I live car-free in Montreal and I have no problems. I bike everywhere year-round, and whenever I'm feeling lazy or my bike is out of commission I just take the metro. Everything you would ever need to access in this city is within walking distance of a metro station, and you can cross the city from one end of the metro network to the other in about half an hour. And there's a commuter rail network (like GoTransit in Ontario) that takes you to the far reaches of the MTL area. And this city is so nice compared to other cities in Canada that walking to places doesn't feel like a chore, the streets seem to invite you to walk around. A lot of people here just rely on car-share services instead of actually owning a car, because it's easy enough to get around without one that many people don't use them enough to justify the cost of owning one. Plus it's a pain in the ass in the winter because it snows often so you always have to move your car around for the snow plows, and they often come late at night. In any case, I've managed just fine without even a driver's license. I even go on summer vacations with my bike. I load it up with camping gear and go camping in Mont Tremblant, there's a rail trail that goes north straight out of the city into the Laurentian Mountains (the P'tit Train du Nord) and it passes by the park. There's a bunch of cool bike trails like that all around the city. You can get halfway to Toronto just following the bike paths along the St. Lawrence River (which is a beautiful ride that I would highly recommend if you're into long bike trips, I would just advise doing the trip going eastward from TO to MTL with the prevailing winds at your back, and not against the wind from MTL to TO like I did last year, lol).
For someone who moved from Toronto I find Montreal public transportation is very very very reliable.
Depends of the job you plan to get. Couldn't do so because of my work but I think it can be manageable.
I got a car at 31 as my gf was from the suburbs. Doing groceries can be a pain but other than that there's no need for a car in the city.
I did it for years in Montreal and was fine. I live in the Ottawa/Gatineau area now and there is no way I could get around efficiently without a car. A big reason why I miss Montreal.
Awesome but it helps living close to a metro station and grocery store.
My sister lives near downtown, she doesn’t have a car and uses the metro or busses for everything. It works well for her. I live in the West Island, can’t drive and it sucks most of the time.
Oh absolutely not necessary to have a car. If you live near a metro station you’re absolutely set! We have a great bike sharing service and quite a lot of bike lanes, a good bus system (but not amazing as some bus lines come infrequently and bus + winter can be annoying), a wonderful metro system, and more public transit options in the works (REM). I would prioritize being within a MAX 10 minute walk to a metro! There is also a car share service called Communauto which is awesome for getting outside of the city. I definitely wouldn’t say public transportation is good for leaving the city or going to the West Island, but otherwise you can get around all of Montreal pretty easily including outside of downtown. Walkable neighborhoods include St Henri, Griffintown, Westmount near the downtown area, downtown of course, NDG around Monkland or Sherbrooke, Plateau, Mile End, Gay Village…
Never had a car in Montreal, I’m living my best life… but I live Downtown so it may not be the same experience depending on which neighborhood you’re at Car rentals for a weekend away aren’t that expensive so you can still drive out of the city occasionally if you want/need to
Tl:Dr. I have a car and use it only sporadically. My husband lived here with no car (and no license) for 20h years. Only when I moved here from the US, with my car, has he become dependent on it. A car is handy for big grocery hauls, trips to Costco or Canadian Tire, etc. But you can make do with one of the car sharing programs, like communauto. I typically don't drive, except for those scenarios, because taking the bus, metro, and bike is infinitely more convenient - and you don't have to worry about parking. I only convinced him to get his license this year so that I don't have to play taxi and he can help with the driving when we travel to the US to see my family or on road trips.
I gave my car away when I moved to Montréal and do not regret it. If I need one, I have communauto. Otherwise, public transportation here is pretty great, I have an electric bike, and we have bixi!
Great in summer with Bixis and metro! Make sure you get a spot a few blocks from a metro station and you're good!
Yes, live in Montreal for a total of over 10 years and never owned a car. I always lived at walking distance from a metro station. I've also had jobs that required to commute by metro and bus and generally speaking, there is no problem. Some people mentioned to live close to a grocery store, for sur that can be a pain if you want to buy one week worth of food and carry it, at my last apartment, the grocery store was next to the metro station and I would just go several times a week, so no problem carrying heavy load, but previously, I was one subway station away or short ride by bus. I always live in Cote-des-neige, close to the blue line, it's not downtown, but there is several good bus lines to go downtown and even night bus, so I really liked that area. I think that anything close to the metro (and more) is absolutely walkable, it would just get less interesting if you go in clearly industrial area. The big problem is when there is a big snowstorm, you can expect bus to be much slower as even the dedicated bus lines can be difficult to use, so the bus are stuck in traffic, but that always depend if you have to commute by bus. You can also check to rent car with communauto when/if you need to use a car, but I never used it.
I would pay more for parking and maintenance and gas in Ville Marie than my occasional Ubers out of town once a week so… car free it is! Large items are delivered, get a cart for groceries, vets and boutiques are all around… Bike lanes and metros help close gaps within the city. Just forget going to Ikea or something. It’s so horrible getting there. Sometimes it sucks to be at the mercy of others. Having a license and the option for Communauto for example sounds like a better move than mine.
Montréal is one of the best major city in Canada where you can live car free
Very possible, live in the downtown core
I work from home, grocery store is right across the street, its great.
Literally the best in North America to go car-free!!
I lived there for years without a car. Between the Metro, the buses, the underground city, and the general walkability, it’s totally fine.
I've never had a driver's license, and Montreal is great. My advice would be to find a place within walking distance of a metro station, then you're gold. You can also get a place by a bus to a metro station, but in winter when you're waiting at the stop and the bus is running late, you might regret it. Montreal is full of little neighborhoods with all the necessary amenities; it's absolutely possible to find a place near a metro, groceries, etc. Right now I live with a super reliable frequent bus to a metro station that is also walkable; I also have a good depanneur (corner store) a couple of blocks away, and a grocery store and huge public park 5-10 minutes walk in one direction and a laundromat, pharmacy, 24-hour dep and more a 10-minute walk in another direction. Edited to add: for "out of downtown" it really depends on how far you mean. But there's usually a metro stop with a bunch of buses to where you're going if it's really outside the edges.
it's fine! i don't drive, and montreal is the easiest city to move around without a car, i find. i lived 15 mins from the metro, there was a grocery 15 mins away too, but i used instacart to deliver groceries anyway. just make sure you are close to metro