Avoid the La Fontaine tunnel: the free shuttle, the occasion of a magical moment towards Montreal

During the years of repair of the bridge-tunnel, why not pass OVER while navigating on the river?

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A Madelinot with a singsong accent, Alain Arseneault, pilots the Volkerak, a 47-seater that provides a free shuttle between Boucherville and the Tétreauville district of Montreal.

For the 7:15 am departure, we are 14 passengers.

« I hate public transport, I avoid the bus, but the boat is something else! » exclaims Chantale, a special educator who lives in Varennes and who has parked her car near the quay.

“My friends make jokes about me. The cruise has funand, yes, I really enjoy going boating for an hour a day!”

The Bellerive park landing stage is not close to any metro station. Three passengers have bicycles on board. One uses an electric scooter. For me, it will be BIXI.

“The boat is magnificent during sunrise,” says Danielle, a teacher at Collège Ville-Marie, who has been a boater for over a year.

« The boat takes 30 minutes to leave the island, compared to the hour and a half it could take me by car! » says Pierre-Luc Blanchette, owner of the AAA Gourmet butcher shop.

« I’d rather arrive oxygenated at work than smash in traffic! » says Isabelle, a teacher who supervises the physiotherapy internship at the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine hospital.

She drinks her coffee and has breakfast on board.

Our crossing companions rejoice in the sight of the rising sun.

“I don’t understand why so few people use the shuttle,” says Danielle.

Neither do I !

Departures are every 45 minutes from 6:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. from Boucherville to Montreal (from 10:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekends) and from 7:15 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Montreal to Boucherville (11 a.m. at 7:15 p.m. on weekends) Information: navark.ca