Hull Flights

The Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train takes you on a 64 km journey, along the banks of the sinuous Gatineau river which borders the beautifull Gatineau Park.

> > > The five hour round trip consists of a two hour stop in Wakefield and travel time is of one and a half hour in each direction.

The buses are white with light blue stripes on them. Some of them go over to Ottawa. That way you can connect from an OC Transpo bus to a Gatineau bus. You see these buses crossing the river on the Alexandra Bridge, right besides the Museum of Civilization.

I do not recommend the buses in Hull. They come and go inconsistently and sometimes they don't even come in time. On occasions they just skip a route all together. In that case you have to wait for the next one. In 30 Celsius below zero degrees cold, not a very wise idea.

Taxies are good. They are relatively affordable and will take you exactly where you want to go and most importantly when you want to go. You can catch them on the road or just order one on the phone. If you go from the Ottawa side of the river, you can get into a Blue line taxi or into a DJ's cab. They know their way around Hull just like the Hull taxies. They are called Regal.

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The local bus service provider here in Hull/Gatineau is the Societe de Transport de l'Outaouais (STO) which is a distinct entity from the Ottawa company OCTranspo. Following the "Tale of Two Cities" theme, tickets from one are not valid on the other but transfers and passes from each other ARE!! Generally speaking the STO buses cover the whole of the Gatineau region and meet up with with the OCT services in downtown Ottawa and at Portage in Hull with transfer tickets from either being valid for about 90 minutes.

The service is fairly efficient during peak periods and during the day but it does become somewhat patchy in the evenings, especially out to the suburbs. Not all stops have schedules on display but do have an "infobus" telephone number which will give details of the next couple of buses from the given stop. It is always best to plan journeys in advance outside of daytime hours and to arrive at the stop early, especially in mid-winter when a bus missed by 2 minutes can result in an hour's wait for the next - not fun when the temperature is minus 25!!

The website is a little self-trumpeting but is easy to vavigate and does have reliable and comprehensive information - there is an English option at the bottom (in small print!) of the LH menu!!

Single journeys can be paid for on the bus - at the moment $3 but exact money only!! Or sheets of 6 tickets (carnet de six billets) can be purchased in advance from selected vendors including corner stores and filling stations for $15.60.