My wife is going to attend an academic conference being held at the University of Montreal, and is having trouble working out the best way to get there from the airport.
Because she’s trying to economize, she doesn’t want to take a taxi, so is looking for public transport or shuttle bus-type options.
She arrives around noon on a weekday, if that makes any difference.
Any advice most welcome.
:: paging matt_mcl… paging matt_mcl… ::
Matt is our resident Montréal transit wizard. 
Do you mean the Dorval airport? It’s right next to a train station (“Gare” in French), from which I believe you can take a commuter train into the central city (to Gare Lucien-L’Allier).
(It does not go to Gare Centrale. There are two train stations in downtown Montréal. However, they are fairly close together, I believe, and are both on the Metro.)
According to the linked page, the cost for a one-way ticket appears to be $4.25. The inbound schedule on a weekday appears to be infrequent, though: a train at 11:52, the next at 14:32.
You can take a shuttle bus between the Dorval train station and the airport terminal. That’s what we did when we went from Toronto to Vermont: we took a train from Toronto to Montréal Dorval, transferred to the airport to pick up our rental car, and drove the rest of the way.
The Montréal Metro:
The train from Dorval drops you at Lucien-L’Allier station. This is next to the metro station of the same name. The Metro costs $2.50 for one ride, or $9 for a day pass (“carte touristique”).
The Université de Montréal appears to be near the Université-de-Montréal and Édouard-Montpetit Metro stations. These are on the blue line; to get there from Lucien-L’allier, take the orange line in the direction of Côte-Vertu, and change to the blue line at Snowdon.
I believe that you can take a bus from Dorval downtown, but I have no idea how.
Matt did an amazing website about the Montreal Metro, showcasing its stunning art and architecture. It makes the Toronto subway look like an institutional bathroom.
Did I mention that I really really want to go back to Montréal?
[sub]Me? Metro envy?[/sub]
Where do you catch that bus from the airport? I keep looking for the damn thing and never find it, and the airport info people are less than helpful.
That’s one of the things I don’t clearly remember from the trip. My friends located them in French.
Let’s see…
Shuttle buses. Hmm. These go to downtown and cost $13.00. Nothing about Dorval train station.
Okay, how about Tourism Montréal?
:: search ::
Nothing there.
:: googles ::
Ah. Here’s something. It’s on Via’s site, the national passenger train service. AirConnect shuttle between Dorval train station and Dorval airport. Included in the cost of a Via train ticket to Montréal. They say you can get a Via ticket from Dorval to downtown Montréal for $11. The shuttles are every twenty minutes. This must be what we used when we came from Toronto. But is there anything for commuter train passengers, who use the same station?
Bother. This is confusing. Where’s Matt?