Founded 1989 Daily ridership 7,000 | Service type Express bus service | |
Stops 16 northbound, 24 southbound Destinations Pie-IX Metro - Henri-Bourassa/ Lacordaire Fleet Nova Bus LFS
Nova Bus LFS Articulated | ||
The 439 Express Pie-IX is a bus route in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). The route operates Monday to Friday during the morning and afternoon rush hour periods. It is a wheelchair accessible route. It serves the boroughs of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and Montréal-Nord. It has 16 stops in the northbound direction and 24 stops in the southbound direction. It is also linked to Pie-IX Station of the Montreal Metro's green line. The fare is $3.25 cash (coins only) or an STM transit pass. The 439 serves an average of 7,000 daily passengers on an average weekday. An average 42,000 passengers use both the 139 and 439 combined during an average week day making it one of the busiest bus corridors in the city.
Contents
Schedule
This route runs from Monday to Friday during the rush hour periods at intervals of every 4 minutes. The system runs in a south direction in the morning and in a north direction in the afternoon and evening. Only the portion of the route that runs along Pie-IX Boulevard is a reserved lane. It runs concurrently with bus route 139 Pie-IX, follows the same route, however the 439 has a limited amount of stops. The southbound portion of the route is longer because it runs along several streets in the borough of Montreal-North before making its way onto Pie-IX. There is no service on week-ends and holidays.
History
Prior to June 12, 2002, this route operated as a bus rapid transit route, the Montreal bus rapid transit 505, which used to run against traffic on the part-time dedicated bus lanes on the opposite side of the traffic median. It featured dedicated sheltered BRT stations, a high frequency of service, and priority traffic signals. The use of these bus lanes were suspended indefinitely after two pedestrians, unaware of the traffic contraflow, was struck by a bus. The 505 bus kept running, though curbside stops were installed. The city and STM promised they would be reopened only when they would be safe, which has not yet happened.
Future
In 2011, the construction of two reserved lanes was planned to be added to the centre of the boulevard by 2013, stretching from the north end of the city to the south end should be complete. The reserved lanes were to include medians, sidewalks and priority traffic light system to reduce passengers travel times and make it safer for pedestrians. The bus was planned to operate 24 hours a day, as a bus rapid transit route, restoring BRT to Montreal.