In 2020, the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) began construction on a new station in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, the Anse‑à‑l’Orme terminal station on the West Island. The REM delayed the branch opening until spring of 2026 and is still on schedule to open during this period. In response to this new station, McGill University released a statement announcing that it is considering shutting down the inter-campus shuttle.

The inter-campus shuttle—a connection for students to and from the downtown and Macdonald campuses—was established in the late 1990s. With a 45-minute bus ride instead of the hour-and-a-half-long travel time of public transport, the shuttle has, since its creation, been the fastest and most affordable way for students to move between campuses.

According to a statement from McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO), the new REM station will provide a faster and better connection between the two campuses. Swathi Prabhakar, a fifth-year student in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, disagrees.

“I think people are nervous about how this is going to affect them, because even with the REM present, I don’t think it makes it easier to get to classes […] with the buses it takes about the same amount of time as the 211 [does now],” Prabhakar said.

On Feb. 24, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Salwa Karboune sent an email to all Macdonald campus students and faculty regarding the Anse‑à‑l’Orme branch of the REM. Karboune then shared McGill University’s intention to shut down the shuttle if the station runs successfully.

In a written response to The Tribune, the MRO shared the administration’s official statement on the REM and the future of the inter-campus shuttle. 

“This spring, Montreal commuters will benefit from the long‑awaited launch of the REM’s Anse‑à‑l’Orme branch—bringing a faster, more seamless transit connection to the western tip of the island and to Macdonald Campus,” the MRO wrote. “For now, McGill’s inter-campus shuttle bus will continue to operate until December 2026. We will ensure that REM services meet our community’s needs before discontinuing the McGill inter-campus shuttle bus.”

Students at the Macdonald campus expressed anxiety about what the shuttle discontinuation and the new REM station would mean for transport between campuses. Prabhakar expressed how the shuttle is important for her ability to continue her studies on both campuses. 

“This year I am living downtown, but I was living at Mac[donald] for three years, and I found that the only way to actually attend my classes downtown was because of the shuttle. Because without it, it takes an hour and a half every single day,” Prabhakar said.

According to the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society, the cost of running one shuttle bus per year is $100,000 CAD. The MRO declined to comment on the possibility of a transit subsidy for Macdonald students to supplement the additional transit cost of the REM, nor on where this funding would go if reallocated. 

Amelia Ell, a first-year student in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences who lives at the Macdonald campus, does not believe the REM is a viable alternative to the shuttle.

“I think [the REM]’s amazing but it doesn’t come close enough to fill the needs of Mac[donald] campus students and downtown,” Ell said. “I don’t have the unlimited [OPUS] card, because I don’t live [downtown], but to be connected, the incentive has to be not paying money every time.”

Ell continued to emphasize that the inter-campus shuttle fosters inter-campus connectivity. She highlighted that the termination of the inter-campus shuttle service would cause Macdonald students to feel alienated from the downtown campus.

“[Not having the shuttle] would seriously make me reconsider my possibility of even having a life downtown, like living there, and still taking courses here [at Macdonald campus] because school is a priority,” Ell said. “All the clubs that I want to be involved in, the potential of living downtown, and being in a lab here is no longer realistic if [the inter-campus shuttle]’s not happening.”