Officials from several communities in Vaudreuil-Soulanges held a press conference during early morning rush hour Monday at the Vaudreuil-Dorion train station to protest the cancellation of the 40 express bus line. The bus, which links directly from that station to the Côte-Vertu metro terminal, is popular with students who use it to access several CEGEPs and universities in Montreal as well as commuters who have jobs in the city or in the Vaudreuil area. The line was one of several that were cancelled as part of an overhaul by the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) to accommodate the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) Anse-a-L’Orme branch, which will start service on May 18. “Two years ago, we passed a resolution in May 2024, to ask them to wait at least a year after the REM will be opened, just to be sure that everything is okay,” said Vaudreuil-Dorion mayor Paul Dumoulin pointing to several outages and reliability problems the REM has experienced in the last year. He said the ARTM has never responded to their request, nor consulted them on the network reconfiguration. Vaudreuil-Dorion City Councillor Jasmine Sharma said the changes will not only cost an extra 30 to 40 minutes each way for commuters, since it will require extra stops and modes of transit, it will also require them to spend more money to get to and from the city. “Students have shared with us that they just take the bus. So, they’re paying like $68.50 [monthly],” she said. “They’re now going to see their costs triple because they’re going to be obliged to take a pass that includes the REM and the Montreal bus and metro network.” As part of the overhaul, route 91, which connects Vaudreuil to CEGEP Gerald-Gaudin has also been cancelled. Exo said in a statement to CTV News that users will need to go to the Anse-a-l’Orme station to access Montreal. On weekdays, service will be provided from the Vaudreuil train station by bus lines 490, 491 and 591, and on weekends by bus lines 491. It stated these alternatives will improve frequency between Vaudreuil and Montreal. Exo added current “budget constraints” would not allow them to keep the 40 line operational. Sharma said a petition, sponsored by local MNA Marie-Claude Nichols, will be presented in the National Assembly in June. She said it has already garnered thousands of signatures from users who rely on the 40 express line and those who want to see it reinstated have until June 1 to sign the petition.
