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For the first 40 years of my life, I lived in different parts of Montreal, from Outremont to the Plateau to Snowdon. As a result, I have had lots of experience using our public transit system. I took the metro and buses everywhere. For the sake of convenience, I also rode my bike to get to work and other parts of the city.

When I moved to the West Island in the early 2000s, a lot of things suddenly changed in terms of getting around. There was no metro; the EXO trains only came during rush hours, and buses only came on the hour or every 1/2 hour. Grocery shopping on foot was not really an option — you had to take the car.

I became very aware that when you move to the suburbs you suddenly tend to not go into the city as much. After all, why would you do that when the suburbs also have many of the things that Montreal has, such as shopping malls, restaurants, and movie theatres? Complacency, maybe.

When the REM was built, covering areas from the West Island up to Deux-Montagnes and down to the South Shore, suddenly a new world of opportunities opened up. Imagine not having to drive your car in traffic for 45 minutes to an hour just to get to downtown Montreal. Imagine just getting on the REM, not worrying about where to park in the city, or not worrying about getting into a car accident because the weather is bad. Despite the fact that our REM breaks down frequently, it is still a wonderful way to get to Montreal, the South Shore, and other areas far outside of Montreal.

Since many of our West Island Men’s Shed members had never used the REM, I decided to organize a social activity with the help of my fellow Shed member Peter, where our group would go to Chinatown for lunch and travel by REM and metro.

On August 20th, 15 of our members headed off to have lunch in Chinatown at Beijing Restaurant. After the outing, the overall consensus was that the REM was a great way to get into town without having to worry about driving through heavy traffic, construction sites, and looking for non-existing parking. As for our lunch, the restaurant had several specials, which most of the members ordered at a bargain price of about $20. It was well worth the trip. The trip and meal were a very enjoyable way to spend a Thursday afternoon.

Here are some quotes from our members about the experience:

Danny: “That was a fun outing and quite a challenge for a guy who knows virtually nothing about how to get around in downtown Montreal.  That's what I call a real learning experience. It was educational seeing Chinatown for the first time, riding the REM, and transferring to the subway.  I never realized how underground Montreal is, how you can get all around and never step outside. The subway was clean, the REM was clean, and the tunnels were clean. All in all, a real fun experience and an eye-opener. Thanks for organizing this; it makes moving from the country to the city even more rewarding.”

Louis: “It was Danny and I who got separated from the group in the metro. Thank God, the group waited for us at the next stop. We might be old and slow, but we loved the outing. All in all, a very pleasant day and lunch. We should do it again in the near future.” 

Matt: “Thanks to the guys who set it up for us. I enjoyed the company most of all!”

Wayne: “Great fun! Sometimes I go exploring alone on the REM and metro in this amazing city, but it was a lot more fun to have company and share the experience with the great guys from the Men’s Shed! And I’m still full from lunch!”