End of an era: Fairview bus loop moving to REM station

If you’ve taken a bus anywhere in the West Island, you have probably found yourself waiting at the bus loop of the Fairview Pointe-Claire shopping mall.

For decades, the loop served as a hub for dozens of buses that span the western part of the island from Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue to St-Laurent. As a result, West Island transit users have spent hours waiting at the terminus.

It’s also one of the few spots in the area where West Islanders can get customer service from the STM, including obtaining new OPUS cards to replace those that have been lost.

The bus loop of the Fairview shopping mall in Pointe-Claire on Friday May 15, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette

Starting Monday, the loop will be moved permanently just a few hundred metres northwest to the REM’s Fairview-Pointe-Claire station. The existing bus waiting area will be demolished and integrated back into the parking lot in the coming weeks.

“That’s fine. I guess it’s better,” Roy Campbell, who takes the bus to the Fairview mall from his home, said of the upcoming demolition. “This loop is kinda congested. You have people walking across. It’s kinda dangerous with all the walkways and people sometimes not paying attention.”

Not a particularly attractive structure, the bus loop’s signature building is a square, yellow brick hut located in the middle of the loop. It serves as a waiting area, complete with a payphone and booth staffed by customer service clerks. The building’s sheet metal roof and exposed wires and pipes give it the look of being a temporary structure that was meant to be demolished decades ago. Several signs posted throughout the building are stamped with the STCUM acronym — which was last used to refer to the STM before the 2001 merger put an end to the old Communauté urbain de Montréal.

“The structure added a bit of character to it, but not a lot,” Campbell said.

Kyana Guzman, who works at an elementary school, said she never thought about whether the bus loop is esthetically pleasing.

“I never really thought about it,” Guzman said. “It’s always been here and it’s something I have been using daily for the last 15 years.”

The new bus terminus will also have a customer service counter and a washroom, but for those accustomed to dipping into the shopping centre, the new bus waiting area will be a longer walk to the mall.

“Having the shopping mall nearby is convenient, so it will take some getting used to with the new terminal,” she said.

Speaking to The Gazette in February, STM planners explained that Fairview will still play an important role as a hub for West Island commuters, but that the entire network is undergoing a major reshuffling to accommodate the new REM.

The reshuffle frees up many buses that were previously stuck going downtown. Now many of those buses will go on shorter routes toward REM stations.

While most people will see their travel times unchanged by the rejig, about 18 per cent of riders will see their travel times decrease by five minutes or more. Only six per cent will see their travel times increase, according to the STM’s analyses. A total of 88 per cent of users will be able to get to a REM station without transferring buses.

It’s expected that the REM will make the trip to the McGill station downtown in about 25 minutes.

Jason Magder

You'll often see Jason Magder donning a hard hat and florescent vest at a local construction site. As The Gazette's transportation reporter for more than a decade, he has seen the new Champlain Bridge built, the old one demolished and followed the ups and downs of the city's transit system. He has been covering news in Montreal for 25 years.

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