747 Bus From Montréal Airport vs Taxi vs Private Car: Which Is Fastest Downtown?

Is the 747 bus the fastest way from Montréal airport to downtown?

Montréal-Trudeau (airport code YUL) sits about 20 km (12 mi) by road from the city centre, on the island of Montréal but on the western side, in Dorval. The trip downtown is short on a map and variable on the road, because almost everything funnels through Autoroute 20 and the interchanges at its eastern end. The same trip can take 25 minutes at 10 pm and well over an hour in the late-afternoon peak.

Three ways of making it are worth comparing: the 747 express bus run by the STM, the regulated taxi, and a pre-booked private car. This guide sets out what is known about each, where the sources are dated or silent, and which suits which kind of traveller. Prices quoted are the ones on official pages as of 2026.

What the 747 actually is

The 747 is a dedicated airport express bus operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), the city's transit agency. It was introduced in 2010 as a joint project with Aéroports de Montréal, according to the STM's original announcement. The STM's current 747 page says departures are generally every 10 to 20 minutes, all day, in both directions, with the airport stop at door 28, and Tourisme Montréal's 747 listing says the line runs 24/7 year-round.

There are two versions. The 747-1 Centre-ville makes 12 stops and ends downtown, and the 747-2 Métro makes a single stop at Lionel-Groulx métro station. Since 26 January 2026 the downtown end of the 747-1 has been the stop at René-Lévesque Boulevard and Berri Street (stop 52905), so older guides that send you to a different terminus are out of date. Confirm the current stop list on the STM's line page before you rely on a particular stop.

The announcement also described the vehicles: luggage racks sized for a full load of suitcases and cabin bags, because airport passengers carry more than commuters. In practice you board at the airport's designated 747 stop, pay, store your bag on the racks and sit near it.

What the bus is not: a door-to-door service. You will get off at the stop nearest your hotel, then walk, take the metro or call a car for the last stretch. In summer that is trivial. In January, with a rolling bag, it is a different story.

What it costs, as of 2026

The STM's 747 page lists the fare at $11.25 per person, and says it gives you a 24-hour pass for the bus, métro, exo train and REM in Zone A. On the bus the fare is cash only, with exact change and no paper bills. You can also pay with the Chrono app by activating the fare before boarding and validating it with the driver within 120 minutes, or at the fare machines in the international arrivals area at door 28. That 24-hour pass means a traveller who rides the 747 and then uses the métro for a day of sightseeing has the airport trip included.

Two notes on paying. Carry coins for the farebox if you are not using the app or the arrivals machines, and remember that the pass is per person, so a family of four pays for four. For one traveller, the 747 is a bargain. For four people with luggage, the maths is closer to a taxi than the first glance suggests.

How long it really takes

Tourisme Montréal's listing gives 45 to 70 minutes on the ride for the 747-1 Centre-ville and 30 to 35 minutes for the 747-2 Métro, which stops only at Lionel-Groulx. Material from the service's launch quoted shorter times, so treat any figure below those as out of date.

For a traveller the useful number is door to door, which includes the walk to the stop at the airport, the wait, the ride, the walk from the downtown stop and the weather. Our planning allowance is 60 to 100 minutes for the 747-1, 25 to 45 minutes by taxi or car off-peak, and 45 to 75 minutes by road in the afternoon peak. With a bus every 10 to 20 minutes, the average wait is 5 to 10 minutes on top of the ride.

Taxi: the regulated flat fare

Montréal taxis from the airport operate on a fixed fare set by provincial regulation for trips to and from a defined downtown zone, with the meter used for destinations outside it. The amount has been revised over the years and we have not been able to confirm today's figure on the airport's own page, so the number to trust is the one the dispatcher states at the taxi stand in arrivals before you get in. Ask for it, and confirm that your hotel is inside the flat-rate zone. If it is not, the meter applies from the start.

The taxi stand is on the arrivals level, with a dispatcher. There is no booking and no surge pricing. The trade-off is that a taxi may be a few minutes' wait in a busy bank of arrivals, and the quality of the vehicle varies from a standard sedan to a minivan. Tipping is customary in Canada.

Private car: when it earns its place

A pre-booked private car sits at the opposite end from the 747. It is more expensive than the bus and often comparable to a taxi, but you meet the driver in arrivals, walk to a car instead of a queue, and arrive at your door or the correct hotel entrance. The fare is fixed and shown in the booker before you pay, so there is no meter and no quote at the kerb.

It is the right choice for a family with children (child seats can be arranged at booking), for travellers with heavy luggage or reduced mobility, for late-night arrivals, and for business travellers whose schedule does not leave room for a 40-minute bus ride. It also removes the hardest part of the 747 for first-time visitors: working out which stop is yours in a city whose street names are in French.

Check your fixed fare

Side-by-side comparison

The door-to-door times are Onroutz.ca planning allowances, except where a source is named.

The REM row needs a note. Montréal's light-rail network, the REM, is in service on other branches, and the REM's own news page reported on 12 August 2026 that dynamic testing had begun on the airport branch. The airport station is not among the stations in service, so no one can use REM to get to YUL today. When it opens, the comparison above will change; the 747 will remain as the night service.

Rush hour, the highway and the downtown stops

The key to the variable travel times is the highway. From the airport, traffic joins Autoroute 20 east, then feeds into the interchanges near the Turcot and the approach to downtown. The slow windows are weekday afternoons and, on the inbound side, weekday mornings, so an 8 am arrival is no bargain either. Midday and the late evening are the quiet windows, though the exact span varies by day. A 747 bus shares the road with everyone else, so it does not escape the queue.

Downtown stops are spaced like bus stops, not like airport coaches. Walking from a stop to the hotel can mean a few hundred metres and, in winter, a slippery sidewalk. Check the distance in advance and ask the hotel which stop they recommend.

Winter, snow and the last 300 metres

From December to March the comparison tilts toward the car. A bus stop is a pole on a sidewalk, snow banks narrow the walk, and a rolling suitcase on uncleared pavement is slow going. Montréal clears its streets efficiently, but the sidewalk between a stop and a hotel entrance is rarely the first thing to be cleared. If you are travelling with a stroller or a carry-on that must be lifted, ask your hotel whether the closest stop has a level approach.

A practical hybrid is common: take the 747 on arrival if your bag is light and you are alone, and book a car for the return when you have souvenirs and an early flight. Our general guidance on how private airport transfers work explains what to expect from a booked pickup, and the airport transfers hub lists every airport we cover across Canada.

Late arrivals and early departures

The 747's overnight service is its strongest argument. Tourisme Montréal lists it as running 24/7 year-round, which means that a late flight or a delayed evening arrival still has a public option. Check the STM schedule page for the night frequency on your date. Taxis also run all night, and both are straightforward at 1 am. A flight landing at 11:30 pm, with the usual wait for bags, reaches downtown by about 1 am by any of the three modes. The difference is how you arrive: a cold stop and a walk, a short taxi ride, or a driver holding a sign.

Early departures reverse the logic. At 4:30 am for a 6:30 flight, check the night timetable first, because a car is simpler than planning around a bus interval. A pre-booked pickup is confirmed the evening before, which removes the uncertainty about frequency.

Coming from Toronto, or timing an event

Many visitors to Montréal arrive by air from Toronto, or by road from Toronto, and the trip to Montréal is a decision of its own. If you are weighing flying against driving, our Toronto to Montréal route page sets out the road distance and times, and the Via Rail vs driving post compares the train. For the airport itself, the Montréal-Trudeau airport page describes the arrivals pickup. Event weekends change everything: the Canadian Grand Prix fills hotels and slows roads, and on those days the 747 and the metro are often the more predictable choices for a single traveller, while a group still benefits from a booked car.

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