It is now possible to reload your OPUS card on your phone

After several months of testing, OPUS mobile recharge is now available for all STM, REM, STL, RTL and exo users. Simply download the Chrono app from the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM).

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Gone are the days when you had to wait in line at the beginning of every month to buy a monthly pass.

“It's like having a vending machine in your pocket; [qui permet] “To recharge your OPUS card wherever you want, at any time, in a very practical and simple way for the user,” confirms the General Director of ARTM, Benoît Gendron, in an interview on the website. 24 hours.

We noticed that the app is really easy to use 24 hours.

After pressing the recharge button, simply read the OPUS card by sticking it to your smartphone, choosing the address, making the payment (Visa, Mastercard or Interac, through Apple Pay digital wallets and Google Pay) and finally loading the address by performing the final card reading.

ARTM plans to carry out six million transactions annually and expects that the deployment of this new functionality will increase the number of public transport ridership.

With the increasing adoption of mobile purchasing, the authority also plans to reduce the number of vending machines, especially in metro stations, Mr. Gendron said.

“There are places where there are a lot of them. When people use the app to recharge their energy, we risk that the need for vending machines will be much less,” he explains.

Mobile payment not before 2026

Mr. Gendron explains that this new functionality is the first step in the technological revolution initiated by ARTM.

By “the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026”, users will be able to use public transport by paying directly with a bank card or their smartphone – and therefore without an OPUS card – as is already the case in cities such as New York. Toronto and even On Laval buses.

“We all realize, first and foremost, that there is a delay caused by many factors. The good news is that we have taken the first step.” [avec la recharge par mobile]. “But we have reached the limit of our system, which we will replace,” confirms ARTM CEO.

He adds that when this new system is implemented, “complementary elements” can be put in place, such as a trip planner that will determine the correct transportation ticket to purchase.

ARTM will soon select the supplier responsible for repairing its system.

The irritants remain

Despite the arrival of mobile phone charging, irritants are still present, especially because of it Tariff reform Entry into force in July 2022.

Users will no longer be able to rely on just one OPUS card to purchase all types of transportation. For example, you still need to use your designated OPUS card to purchase one AB card that allows you to take the metro to Montreal and then the Réseau Express métropolitain (REM) to Brossard, for example.

But Benoit Gendron promises that regime change will solve the problem.

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