City services and 311

Canadian municipalities concentrate non-emergency contact in a single service line. Where a city runs 311, that number reaches every municipal department, and the people answering can route a request to the right one. For Montreal that is Ville de Montreal.

Numbers and contacts

• City services (311 Montreal)311, or 514-872-0311 from outside Montreal

  311 covers the island of Montreal; the 514 line is the number the city publishes for callers who cannot dial 311.

  Official page

• City hall — main city number275, rue Notre-Dame Est, Montréal, QC H2Y 1C6 — 514-872-0311

  Montreal publishes one main number for general city business; permits and most services are handled by your borough.

  Official page

• Police non-emergency — neighbourhood police station (PDQ)Call your local poste de quartier; each PDQ publishes its own line

  The SPVM publishes no single island-wide non-emergency number; emergencies and crimes in progress are 911.

  Official page

• SPVM headquarters1441, rue Saint-Urbain, Montréal, QC H2X 2M6

  Administrative address only — reports are taken at your neighbourhood station or through the online report form.

  Official page

• Anonymous crime tips (Info-Crime Montréal)514-393-1133

  Listed by the SPVM as the channel for information given anonymously.

  Official page

• STM — trip planning and general inquiries514-786-4636 (514 STM-INFO)

  Automated menu: option 8, then option 4. The bus-schedule line is 514-288-6287 (514 A U T O B U S).

  Official page

• exo — customer service1-833-255-6396 (1 833 allo-exo)

  exo operates the commuter trains and the bus network outside the STM/REM core.

  Official page

Official city services

These go directly to the municipality’s own pages for the services residents use most. Fares, fees, hours and collection schedules change, so each link is the live source rather than a snapshot copied here.

• STM fares — Fare schedule and fare media; Montreal fares are set by zone under the ARTM reform.
• STM service updates — Métro, bus elevator and works disruptions.
• STM trip planner — The itinerary tool sits on the STM homepage; there is no separate trip-planner URL.
• REM (Réseau express métropolitain) — The automated light metro; a separate operator from the STM.
• REM fares — REM trips use the same ARTM zone fares as the métro and trains.
• REM service status — Network and elevator status.
• exo — Commuter train and bus operator for the greater Montreal area.
• exo fares — Fare lookup by trip, plus OPUS subscriptions.
• Household waste and recycling — Collection is run by the boroughs, so schedules and sorting rules vary by address.
• Snow removal on sidewalks and streets — Includes the snow removal progress map and the parking rules during loading operations.
• Building permits — Permit applications are made to your borough permit counter, not to city hall.
• Library network — 46 municipal libraries across the 19 boroughs.

Getting a request acted on

A municipal request is only as useful as its location. Whatever the issue — a pothole, a broken streetlight, missed collection, a water main leak, an unshovelled sidewalk — the details that get it fixed are the same:

• The exact address, or the nearest intersection, plus which side of the street.
• What the problem is and when you first noticed it.
• A photo, where the problem is visible — most cities accept attachments online.
• Whether it is on public property or private. Cities can only act on what they own, and this is the most common reason a request is closed without action.
• A reference number. Keep it: it is what you quote when you follow up.

What is not the city’s job

A surprising share of complaints go to the wrong body. In most Canadian cities, the following are handled by someone else entirely:

• Police, fire and medical emergencies — 911. Not the city service line.
• Highways and provincial roads — the province, not the municipality. City crews maintain local roads only.
• Electricity, natural gas and telecoms — the utility or the provider. See the driving and utilities information for who regulates them in Quebec.
• Landlord and tenant disputes — a provincial tribunal, not the city.
• Schools and hospitals — school boards and regional health authorities.