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The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain was established with the purpose of developing, co-ordinating and funding transit on a regional level. It was supposed to get all the disparate agencies offering transit, from Exo to the Société de transport de Montréal to its counterparts in Laval, Longueuil and beyond, rowing together in the same direction to make service more efficient. But since the REM came along, the ARTM’s mandate has been usurped.
This doesn’t mean the service the REM and REM de l’Est will provide isn’t crucial. A new train through the north part of the West Island has been sought for decades. A railway over the new Champlain Bridge to the South Shore is essential. And a new transit link to the city’s east end and Montreal North via the REM de l’Est will fulfill some of the goals of Mayor Valérie Plante’s proposed Pink Line, taking pressure off the métro’s beleaguered Orange Line and reaching areas of the city underserved by public transit.