Bus shelters on the affected routes will be outfitted with these signs.Bus shelters on the affected routes will be outfitted with these signs. (CBC)

Montreal's transit agency is launching a new service that aims to reduce waiting times for bus commuters, promising a maximum of 10 minutes between buses on certain routes.

Dubbed the '10-minutes-max network', the service upgrade will cover 31 of the busiest bus routes across the island of Montreal.

Eleven bus routes will offer the 10-minutes-max service in both directions between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

The 20 remaining routes will have the faster service only in one direction, which will be decided according to traffic flow, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The faster network will benefit some 568,000 transit clients.

Consult the full list of affected bus routes

Some of the busiest routes affected in both directions are:

  • 24 - Sherbrooke
  • 51 - Édouard-Montpetit
  • 80 - du Parc
  • 165 - Côte-des-Neiges

Here are some of the routes with faster service in only one direction, depending on the time of day:

  • 55 - Saint-Laurent
  • 103 - Monkland
  • 106 - Newman
  • 211 - Bord du Lac (West Island)

"You establish a strong grid of lines that are...the backbone of our bus system," said Michel Labrecque, chairman of the agency's board.

The new network will mean 70,000 additional hours of service and the yearly cost will be $7 million.

The transit agency is hoping to increase its ridership by eight per cent, a target that Labrecque said it should be able to meet by the end of 2011, with the help of the 10-minutes-max service.

The service kicks in on Aug. 30.